There is a tale of Alexander the Great coming across a yogi as he was venturing and conquering east. The yogi was sitting on a rock. Who has lived the good life? Look at all the things Alexander has done! Bertrand Russell’s book “In Praise of Idleness” opens up our weird relationship with the conspicuous. Our preference for fake work over space and reflection.
We are not well trained to kuier. To spend and savour time with each other. When kuiering with someone, you turn off the measurement. Perhaps you are laughing with someone to the point it is contagious. Where the laughter goes beyond the joke, and you have a moment where you look at the person and think, “I am so glad you exist”.
A connection that has nothing to do with weighing and measuring. You just see the other person, and get a sense that they are a part of who you are. Not the part of you that passes. The part you really connect with.
The glorious nature of being human, is that when you are that connected, you can always feel that person's presence. Even if they physically die, they are a part of your story. You can close your eyes, and they are still there. Bending space and time. A close family friend described this beautifully in a recent virtual memorial after the unexpected passing of his wife due to Covid. The sense of her being near and now.
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