Student
I am a student
A seeker in the lifelong search for knowledge
I have been planted here like a newborn bud
bidden to blossom when I have found enough facts
to bring myself to proper understanding
I have been left to grow
from the same soil as the centuries-old oak
that houses the history of this city
alongside wide-reaching catalogues of treatise dialogues
and lessons about lands far away
that I will never visit
Alongside tomes of teachings
tethered to the weathered pages of dusty paper
and parchment in these books
A compartmentalized collection
of revised and itemized volumes of study
spellwork and philosophy –
all of it left here for me
But what have I learned?
Through osmosis
words have been burned into my memory
and although this is an effective process
the prognosis for my continued intellectual evolution seems unlikely
More what might be is an expiration
in fact-laden irrelevance –
meaninglessness is the closest diagnosis
But at least I have taken away that
I have learned without much prompting that the fact is
that no matter how much time is spent on research or contemplation
the only elevation of consciousness
comes from experience
I first had this revelation midway through a summer day –
the sun was bright through the window
and the blowing breeze prompted the grass to sway
Through the glass I could see
two ponies at play
I don’t remember
what I heard one of them say
but it was enough to make me pay attention
to something
instead of the dead ponies I was reading about
I think I caught a glimmer then –
a smile and shimmer of laughter
that painted the air
like sunbreeze diamonds
Two girls happier
than all of opportunity and obligation could ever make them –
and I think I knew then
But I was young and assured
in the confidence that only comes with ignorance
so I shut my window
and returned to my books
to review what I had learned
My life has turned a corner since then
I’ve put away a week of study
to spend time with friends
I’ve contemplated koans
on the philosophy of inaction
until the unexpected distraction
of a two-day get-together
became my weekend course of action
I have seen that laugh, and smile
and caught for a moment or a while
the sparkle of daylight respite
from worry and weariness
What I can tell you is this:
there is no encyclopedia so precious
that it is worth to cherish it
over a day with someone you love
There is every reason in the world
to care less for duty and deadlines
if it is in the service of fairness to your friends
There is no end
to the wealth of understanding
gained from living
even if it means giving up
a day’s exploration
into the infinite ocean of things
written in books
They will still be there tomorrow
Knowledge written down is mundane
Unmoving
Unchanging
Static
But the always evolving entropy of life
and the ponies who make it real
prove that there is something special
in an existence with others
Evidence that
as is
and always will be:
Friendship is Magic