…I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept infinity. I want this adventure that is the context of my life to go on without end.
—Simone de Beauvoir—
The paradox of life is that we cannot conceive of its ending, but we also can’t conceive of its not ending, We have the image of the circle to help us
out of this dilemma. And if we think of the vast cycles of time and generation, the image of a spiral comes to mind. The rich web, the adventure of
life, goes on without end. it preceded us and will outlast us, and humans will go on struggling and surrendering. A related paradox is that we live in a moment of time that is constantly becoming the past, yet will affect a future that we cannot really predict or control. All we have to work with is our brief arc of life, now. Yet how precious it is, and how vast, and how it is extended by our ties with others. The web of our relatedness to others brings us into their lives, them into ours. As we share our attention, we’re enriched again by the gifts of others. A further paradox: every individual is alone, yet none of us is unaccompanied on the curving journey that takes us through this life. Only by letting go of life do I most profoundly enhance it.