Two Minds
A wonderful poem by Fred Chamberlain that just needed to be published!
Most minds live alone — they reach out on narrow, mundane, well worn paths in the process of survival, touch other minds briefly, and pass on. In books, one mind may touch another, but the mind that provides the idea is not aware of the process. The mind that is touched may give wide berth to any idea that contradicts what it has already accepted. The contact is not vital.
Suppose two minds touch, and draw near — suppose an exchange of ideas occurs which is limited by neither inhibition nor any form of dishonesty. Suppose two minds, both despising the “kind” lie, find a commonality of purpose and understanding that is fully dedicated to rationality.
Suppose I tell you I’d rather be crushed than deceived, every time? Suppose I say that when my mind produces concepts that are naive, boring, ignorant crude, irritating, clumsy, irrelevant, short sighted, or illogical, I want to know? Tell me kindly, but tell me. Help me to grow to a state of unbreachable intellectual function, and I’ll try to help you. I swear by all I value to show you my clear convictions and my areas of confusion. If my convictions are different than yours, work with me to discover which of us is right. If I am confused and you see the issue clearly, help me to learn. If we are both confused, explore the matter with me until it is fully clear to both of us.
If contact with my mind is unbearable to you, tell me so — I will go. Far better this than to chain yourself to a hideous deceit in the name of protecting my feelings, where the situation grows more unbearable and more dishonest until you are numb and mute. Help me to be all the things you want me to be, and I will become your greater value each day. Here, the rewards of honesty are without bounds or limits.
I am headed for the sky,
Come along if you can fly.
Fly beside but do not hold me,
Do not let your wings enfold me.
If you’d rather stay below,
Wish me luck and let me go.
If you rise with all your might,
I’ll stay with you day and night.
Help you every way I may,
Listen to the things you say.
I will let down all my bars,
Share my dreams about the stars.
And if I am bound to earth,
If I say stars have no worth,
Seek the joy that is your own,
Join others that have flown.
Do not worry if I cry,
All it means is “I won’t try”.
If you cannot reach my mind — if it is buried and cannot respond, go and seek someone you can share your thoughts with. Do not struggle to reach me if I seem deaf — do not bind yourself to a perpetual loneliness and a futile loyalty. Seek the joy that can be yours. The sight of a living flower, distant in the fresh air, will be more beautiful than dry, drooping, dying petals at my elbow.
