The texture of the world

“What do I make of all this texture? What does it mean about the kind of world in which I have been set down? The texture of the world, its filigree and scrollwork, means that there is the possibility for beauty here, a beauty inexhaustible in its complexity, which opens to my knock, which answers in me a call I do not remember calling, and which trains me to the wild and extravagant nature of the spirit I seek.” (Annie Dillard)

9 thoughts on “The texture of the world”

  1. This made me think of being a young boy endlessly fascinated by the beautiful and melancholy patterns the sunlight would make through the drapes on the floor of my parents’ front hallway, mystically alive afternoons unable to express anything of the life-spirit and wonder I glimpsed in these eternal writings across the transom of the magical.

    And then I also thought about learning to administer the Roarschach ink-blot tests when I was in psychology school, and how a person could give a “texture response” to a card (i.e. it’s a cat because that part looks like fur). Whether or not this actually says much about a respondent’s emotional life, your post tapped into the part of my mind where texture lives, so thanks.

  2. “The spirit I seek” … What lovely words and images to remind us of what we’re all really looking for. That backpack shot is a heart-melter.

    Happy Mother’s Day to you!!

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