In times like these, we are all in the process of transformation, and so is the world around us. The Great Work, the magnum opus, is the work we are all engaged in, whether we know it or not. The Great Work is the reassembling of the tiny shards of light into which the universe was shattered at the Creation. Every story we tell, every poem we... See more
Finding meaning in tragedy is a perennial human task, as is the task of remaking of the self. We must learn to do both while creating a new world. Grief is warranted. Fear is warranted. Pain is inevitable. But in so far as the future matters, learning must become our primary process.
Today it is commonplace to speak of the present as an interregnum, as liminal, or simply a transition, but the issue at stake is deeper. My preferred form of words comes from Zak Stein – a time between worlds – because it gives the idea a poetic and mystical atmosphere for inquiry while also being an empirical claim.