Reading (again) “The Snow Leopard.”

Peter Matthiessen writes some beautiful passages about observing his son’s natural ease in the universe. His son is happy, carefree and without self-consciousness. To quote:

“The child was not observing; he was at rest in the very center of the universe, a part of things, unaware of endings and beginnings, still in unison with the primordial nature of creation …

As adults, I’m sure most of us have these fleeting moments of peace and clarity. But, these phantoms only occasionally penetrate through to our consciousness - as we grow, we necessarily put on what Matthiessen calls the “armor of ‘the I.’” We become individuals and inevitably lose this natural connection to the unified nature of things.

But why must this be lost? Well, it is quite simple isn’t it? We must separate ourselves from others, view the world as an arena of competition, because otherwise we would perish. We are bound to our earthly bodies, and these bodies suffer without food and shelter. By physical need, we must be hunters, gatherers and predators, protecting our subsistence against all others. And so, the ability to feel unified with all beings is lost. Our physical needs as human beings pull us away from our spiritual destiny.

Perhaps only in some utopian garden, where all our physical needs are provided for, and all competition banished, would it be possible to slowly regain access to the child’s perception of the universe.