Minutiae
I have been reading Mrs D for a long time, and while we sometimes disagree, we often agree. She posts about knowing the details, and how it sometimes ruins things for her.
I can understand that, you don’t need to know the name of a flower to appreciate it, nor the way a TV works to watch. (though, I do, at least in principle if not in detail)
heres’ the thing, at least for me: The complexity of the natural world AND the world of human interaction is what makes it beautiful to me. Knowing more about something doesn’t ruin it for me, it expands it. Here’s the classic example, as shared with me by my philosophy professor some years ago.
We were walking across the quad from the chapel to the school, in the rain. It was a slow, soft rain, and it was a bright day (residents of Northwest indiana will know what I mean, sunny showers are common)
The priest asked me if I’d ever seen a raindrop refract light, if I’d watched the trail of a raindrop on glass and seen it distort the image behind it. like a tiny lens
Of course I had, I responded. Everyone has.
He said “you see all the raindrops around you?”
“Yes.”
“the Creator of the Universe has painted the scene we are walking through, on each and every raindrop, from every conceivable angle, and nobody ever even sees all of those infinitely detailed masterpieces, painted with the original and most sophisticated paintbrushes, Light”
I was stunned.
And ever since I have looked for the hidden, because the hidden is often more exquisite by far than the visible.
