In response to Abby’s journal entry of May 25, The Temptation of Transcendence:
That’s how I felt when I entered the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. I was utterly in awe of whatever could inspire people to create something like that. So many people, so many different arts & passions coaxed to their ultimate quintessential expression.
& of course you know what an anti-authoritarian I am, & I had many similar feelings—I thought myself a sucker falling for it, & was angry at the seduction & its efficacy….
But something I’m trying in my life right now (& actually when I was travelling three years ago as well, though I forgot in the meanwhile) is to welcome those attractions, explore them. There’s often something there.
It’s simplest with people—I’m attracted to people all the time. For years, I’ve been conflicted when I’ve felt that, as if it meant that I wanted something from them that they didn’t want to give. But an attraction is just that, a pull towards someone. It can find expression in a trillion different ways, some of which are sexual & many not, perhaps there’ll be some insight we’ll share, or a beautiful experience, or who knows.
Perhaps your pull towards the catholic cathedral is similar. It doesn’t mean you’re being duped by anything, it just means there’s something there that speaks to you. There IS something transcendent in such grand beauty. On one level it means Catholicism, but on another, it transcends such divisions & simply means “devotion.” & THAT is something I know I love to be around.
I like the imagery in yr blog by the way, stone lace & piercing light shards. Oh & i fixed yr trackback & comments links.
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Comments
You’re right, of course. There is beauty in, well, beauty, and it’s not only insidious. I think I was just feeling very aware of how susceptible I am to that kind of manipulation, even though I think of myself as someone who is vigilant about her own independence of mind. But the truth is, I loved it. And I would’ve gone back today, except that it’s 74 degrees with a blazing blue sky and it seemed a shame to sit indoors, so we ate crepes in the Tuileries instead :) (And thanks for fixing the trackback & comments.)
Posted by: Abby | May 26, 2003 07:52 AM