You can accept things intellectually. Like that above the artic circle it never really gets dark in the summer. You can know that in the same way that you know about gravity. But to really feel it, you have to sit in the midnight sun and see how bright the night can be. It’s a whole different way of knowing something.
I generally believe people are rational. That they accept the knowledge of their minds as fact, but this is the place where it breaks down. That tiny difference between the fact of axial tilt and the beauty of driving into the sunset at eleven pm. I think too, that that difference is what makes us human.
The difference between understanding what a star is and naming the constellations. Between knowing about oxidation and combustion and sitting in front of a fire.
We have that disconnect.
It’s that difference between saying, "I can accept that," and true acceptance.
It’s the difference between knowing what you want and chasing after it.
The place where those differences meet is awesome and beautiful. Seeing the summer sunset in the artic and knowing about axial tilt all at once. Saying I can accept that and accepting it at the same time. It’s understanding the theory behind lightning and standing in the storm.
The place where knowledge and superstition meet. As someone else said… and said it better:
"To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape."
It’s a good place to be.
