By ‘human relationships are as vast as desert’
‘…stones, even, are smoother for the dust’
– Patrick White, from the novel Voss (1957)
The place in which we spend more time than any other, is our thoughts, our inner world.
It is there that we constantly converse with ourselves, from infancy to death.
It is there that we suffer; unspoken traumas, ancient anxieties and caustic self-blame – all dust storms in our deserts of heart and mind that shape and sculpt us.
It is there that our music plays, that our hopes, our joys, our dreams, our delights and our loves reside.
Because this is so, because we live in the country of our hearts and minds, it is possible to love someone, to never leave their side, to turn to them in your sleep, to draw comfort from them in every waking moment, to know that you will never be without them or them without you, despite great physical distances between you for achingly long passages of time, and even if they have passed.
Because this is so, the quietest whisper, gentlest smile or wink can nourish you, your whole life through.
Because this is so, love knows love, whatever the language, beliefs or position.
It is the inner life that shapes us.
In the landscape of heart and mind, love knows no boundaries.
photo credit: Kevin Dooley
