The Heart of the Matter
Here is the deepest secret nobody knows… here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life… E E Cummings
The deepest secret is that love is the most important matter.
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It sometimes seems the deepest secret few know is that love is the most important matter for all of us.
While working amongst the team members of the Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheimer expressed how important he thought it was for the team to speedily develop a working atomic bomb before the Nazis did so. After the bomb was developed and “successfully” dropped on Japanese civilians in Hiroshima, Oppenheimer seemed conflicted. In a speech he delivered to his fellow scientists at Los Alamos in 1945, he spoke of the importance of “science,” but then he also spoke of how the “relationship between science and common sense” needed “re-thinking.”
At the end of his twisting tormented speech, he went on to say the following:
But there is another thing: we are not only scientists; we are men, too. We cannot forget our dependence on our fellow men. I mean not only our material dependence, without which no science would be possible, and without which we could not work; I mean also our deep moral dependence, in that the value of science must lie in the world of men, that all our roots lie there. These are the strongest bonds in the world, stronger than those even that bind us to one another, these are the deepest bonds—that bind us to our fellow men.* (italics and bold mine)
It seems that, too late, Mr. Oppenheimer realized what was of the utmost importance. For each of the scientists involved, their “roots” lay, not in some abstract idea called “science,” but their roots lay with humankind. The “strongest bonds” did not exist between the members of the scientific team of the Manhattan Project, but the strongest bonds existed between those scientists and all of humanity. In other words, the most important matter, the matter that had been missed, was the matter of love.
Recently, I listened to an interview in which a woman was discussing an upcoming conference she’s organized in which various speakers will talk about some of the wonderful technologies that will soon be available and that will change people’s lives for the better. She said that these technologies would enable people to live more healthy and more conscious lives and would enable society to operate differently. Presumably, by this, she means that society will operate on a higher level.
Time and time again, we’ve all heard people talk about how certain knowledge, or machinery, or technology will change the way we live, will solve particular problems, and will enable us to live much better lives.
When will we learn? When will we awaken from our slumber? When will we realize that only one thing will enable each of us to live life more consciously and in a more evolved way? When will we comprehend that only in so doing can we create a more just and loving society?
No formula, no system, no science, no government, no law, no religion, no philosophy, and no institution can bring about the necessary conditions for elevating our society as a whole. The only way is the way of love. And, the way of love is an individual choice.
This means that each one of us, individually, makes a choice. We can choose or purpose in our heart to walk in the way of love. In so doing, we till the soil of our heart, even if at the outset it is rocky and dry. We further enrich it when we choose to dwell upon thoughts of kindness and compassion toward our brothers, our sisters, and ourselves. We water it with tears of empathy, joy and appreciation for those around us. In so doing, we prepare our hearts, we prepare our very selves, to live lives of love and service. Perhaps, at first, we’ll focus on those of our family, our friends, and our acquaintances. Others may begin differently. For instance, they might begin by loving and serving some of those in the animal kingdom or the plant kingdom. Then, it may be, that we sow seeds of love in our hearts for those we don’t know very well. Finally, the ground of our hearts will be rich enough to love all creation.
Since all of creation is actually ONE, it follows that when we love another, we actually love ourselves. When we’re kind to another, we extend kindness to ourselves.
This is not farfetched. It’s not a “pie in the sky” notion that has no practical use whatsoever. Just think: No formula, no system, no science, no government, no law, no religion, no philosophy, no institution has brought about the necessary conditions for elevating our society thus far. What could be more practical than each of us, deciding for ourselves, to attempt living and conducting our relationships in a new and different way, in the way of love?
When we view things in this way, we realize that E. E. Cummings’s poem, is not a fanciful literary confection focused solely on romantic love, or even the love of a close friend or family member. No, with his words he expressed our reality. In our heart, each of us carries the hearts of all others. In reality, we are all one. We, and all of creation, were created through love. It is this love, it is this wonder that “keeps the stars apart.”
For your convenience and enjoyment, here is E. E. Cummings’s exquisite masterful poem entitled, “i carry your heart with me.”**
“[I carry your heart with me(i carry it in]
By E. E. Cummings
I carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which
grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
Think of your own life. Think of your own experiences. When were the times when you continued, in spite of feeling all was lost? When did you regain hope amidst discouragement or overwhelming circumstances? Didn’t your transformative moments occur when you experienced love and/or compassion in some way?
Love is the only thing that has ever made any real difference. Here, in this life, it’s the only thing that ever will make any real difference. It is at the heart of all that really matters.
Until next time,
K.M. Anderson
PhD Metaphysics
PhD Spiritual Counseling
Whisperia
* https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/key-documents/oppenheimers-farewell-speech/ Atomic Heritage Foundation, “Oppenheimer’s Farewell Speech”
**
www.poetry foundation.org
[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in], by E. E. Cummings
Thank you! I’m very happy that the article provided an impetus for your reflections…
K. M.,
I love your articles and your paintings. I have to say that this article really moved me and caused me to reflect on things and events that made a difference in my life. I realize that acts of compassion, kindness and love are what gave so much meaning to me.
Thank you, and may God bless you always…