David Read Johnson: …in this close proximity… our souls light up, incandescence, like the coalescence of dust into stars….

Artwork: "The Sungazer", Daniel Watts (source)
"but there is more than repetition, there is proximity, repetition gives rise to the differences that are time and space and meaning, but proximity determines the speed or turbulence of these lines of becoming" ~ David Read Johnson
when i and the other allow ourselves 
to remain in close proximity,
in embodied encounter, 
with the rush of time and space
moving between us,
then all that the buddha said can be experienced,
for all life is turbulent,
all life is impermanent,
all life is impersonal,
and all life flows in an endless stream,
dependent origination...
and it is in this close proximity, 
this collection of tremoring vibrations,
that our souls light up,
incandescence,
like the coalescence of dust into stars,
or like this gathering of lonely people
from far and wide,
into this one small space.
we are the banks that encase the stream,
these repetitions of identity
and name and sensibility that defines what is,
that give us the solidity we have,
yet we cannot resist the water,
we place our feet in the river to feel its flow
as each act is repeated,
as each entity affirmed,
as each boundary is marked,
the other calls forth,
and the lines of becoming
rush between us,
confusing us,
enlivening us,
causing all things to rise and fall and turnabout
yes, as we approach the other,
the flow of this lifestream increases,
from here to there,
and in this here to there we surmise an origin and end,
a source and a destination
"oh that i knew that such a source actually exists!  perhaps it is only the conjuring of proximity and repetition! certainly a real stream rises from out of the ground and spreads out to the sea, certainly i have emerged from out of my mother, not an abstract entity to be sure, but a real, unique body, as she emerged from hers and she from hers and so on until...... what, the original eve? monkey, fish, bacteria, stardust? where does this end?" ~ David Read Johnson
Being in Proximity to the Other
David Read Johnson
Apr 17 2004
https://2d452806-f22e-460a-bd3c-544fc604efea.filesusr.com/ugd/242f9d_392d9081f2954edba919f4756f03e215.pdf
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https://primediscrepancy.wixsite.com/dvt40/about

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Excerpt (Part 2)

Artwork: “The Sungazer”, Daniel Watts (source)

PROXIMITY

but there is more than repetition,
there is proximity,
repetition gives rise to the differences
that are time and space and meaning,
but proximity determines 
the speed or turbulence 
of these lines of becoming

so i find myself here in the world 
which i see 
and hear 
and smell 
and touch 
and taste,

let me walk in this pleasant woods,
at first i am the witness
and i see that everything is good
for i am the one who takes the world in...

it is like being at the ocean shore looking out to the horizon
and seeing nothing and being seen by nothing,
for there is no other shore... 

but at some point in this walk
if I walk long enough
i may begin to have a feeling 
that things in the woods
are aware of my presence,
that i alone am not the only witness,

and i look for evidence
of the presence
of this awareness,
perhaps in the sound of a branch snapping,
the rustling of leaves,
and in my imagination
i feel i am being watched
and i laugh to myself 
or hum a familiar tune 
to cast off this idea,
only to be startled by the next rustling
and try not to begin running.

this pre-encounter with the other
seems to form simply from my walking,
if in the distance
i were to see a figure
standing by a tree,
or i see two eyes looking at me
from inside a cave opening,
then a real encounter with the other would begin...

and confronted with the other's presence,
my heartbeat quickens,
the pace of time increases.

such encounters range in distance
from those that allow plenty of room
between us for maneuvering,
the encounter being about presentation
of our surfaces
to each other,
to those more personal
in which we come in contact
with our proximal spaces,
that is,
the spheres of immediacy that surround us
and that define our personal space,
in which we interact
with most acquaintances.

Then, moving further inward,
where our proximal spaces overlap with each other,
we enter intimate spaces,
and then even further...
territory we know as
deep play or presence.

as the banks of the river narrow, 
the stream moves faster

Photo: “Rushing River”, Donna Caplinger, 2012 (source)

STREAM AND SHORE

the two lay next to each other, 
two banks and the unseen river flowing between,
lines of becoming arising somewhere that way,
upstream and flowing this way downstream.

as the two close in on one another, 
the river moves more rapidly,
white water,
rapids,
turbulence increases,
rushing as it were between them,
and then when the two move apart,
the water slows, 
evens out,
lays quiet,
almost as if not flowing at all.

when i and the other allow ourselves 
to remain in close proximity,
in embodied encounter, 
with the rush of time and space
moving between us,
then all that the buddha said can be experienced,
for all life is turbulent,
all life is impermanent,
all life is impersonal,
and all life flows in an endless stream,
dependent origination...

and it is in this close proximity, 
this collection of tremoring vibrations,
that our souls light up,
incandescence,
like the coalescence of dust into stars,
or like this gathering of lonely people
from far and wide,
into this one small space.

we are the banks that encase the stream,
these repetitions of identity
and name and sensibility that defines what is,
that give us the solidity we have,
yet we cannot resist the water,
we place our feet in the river to feel its flow,

as each act is repeated,
as each entity affirmed,
as each boundary is marked,
the other calls forth,
and the lines of becoming
rush between us,
confusing us,
enlivening us,
causing all things to rise and fall and turnabout,

yes, as we approach the other,
the flow of this lifestream increases,
from here to there,
and in this here to there we surmise an origin and end,
a source and a destination,
a home and the frontier.

Artwork: “Our Journey”, Gaia Orion (source)

SOURCE

oh that i knew that such a source actually exists! 

perhaps it is only the conjuring of proximity and repetition! 

certainly a real stream rises from out of the ground 
and spreads out to the sea, 
certainly i have emerged from out of my mother, 
not an abstract entity to be sure, 
but a real, unique body, 
as she emerged from hers 
and she from hers 
and so on until......
what, the original eve? 
monkey, fish, bacteria, stardust? 
where does this end?...... 

how can there be a definitive origin? 
so perhaps one thought arises out of another, 
but there is no original thought that began....

only a flow from one to another....
yet which gives us a source and an end,
time and purpose, 
origin and destination, 
that time and space 
and with them 
source and end arise out of repetition

explains why the source can never be reached, 
never attained, 
and yet is not transcendent, 
for all rise up at once, 
beginning and end, 
here and there, 

as if from the vibrating ether, 
one cannot have present 
without past and future, 
cannot have here without there, 
cannot have your project without source 
and final aspiration! 

but all this is too much! 

the rapids become too turbulent, 
one is nearly pulled in, 
and heavens, 
could drown or be carried away! 
enough with proximity! 
enough with becoming!
Give me some space! 
You are driving me crazy! 

LET ME BE!

...
Excerpt (Part 3)
David Read Johnson: The Playspace is the river... the stream that arises from repetition and proximity...
Oct 6 2022
https://loveletterstofutureme.org/excerpts/david-read-johnson-the-playspace-is-the-river-the-stream-that-arises-from-repetition-and-proximity/

Artwork: “Rushing Water”, Richard Mittelstadt, 2020 (source)

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