The Journey

(a parable)

In his masterwork, The Inferno, Dante begins his descent into hell accompanied by the great poet, Virgil—but halfway along, Virgil tells him he can lead him no further, and leaves him instead with Dante’s love, Beatrice, for a guide. This was Dante’s way of saying that human intellect can take us only so far; beyond that point, only Love can show us the way. This is true in any journey, whether into art, or the spiritual journey—the finite mind cannot encompass the infinite—but it is with the infinite that the true art, the great wisdom, lies.

This is not to say that the intellect plays no part in learning, say, to write. This is the mind with which we master the craft of our art. On the spiritual journey, it is our time to read the texts, to study the lessons.

Still, the time comes when Virgil can take us no further. We must overcome our terror, leave behind the peace of the safe answer, and plunge headlong into the abyss, never knowing where the great river will take us, guided only by our love of the word, the hue, the spirit. Is it worth it? If you can ask, it’s probably best that you remain on the precipice, “where you shall weep,” as Gibran puts it, “but not all of your tears, and laugh, but not all of your laughter.” Any painter can recognize the beauty of a star against a dark sky. It took a true artist, and all of his tears, to paint a Starry, Starry Night.