“Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I
am) ~ Descartes. This is, perhaps one
of the single most famous philosophical statements of modern times. “I think,
therefore, I am”...
It was certainly the
first philosophical statement of which I was consciously aware, because when I
was a very tiny child, my mother had an apron adorned with a comic strip,
featuring a slightly daft-looking English sheepdog. The dog had thought-clouds
above its head, and in the first picture, looking confident and happy, it was
thinking, “I think, therefore I am”. In the next, the dog looked mildly
confused: “But if I only think I think, how do I know I think?” Finally,
looking dizzy and utterly perplexed, it went on, “I mean, I could just be
thinking I think I think… I think…”
My mother, always one
to seize an opportunity to expand our education, told us (my siblings and I)
about Descartes and also that, perhaps, his statement is potentially dangerous.
For example, what happens when I’m unconscious? What about people with severe
brain damage? Is thought really the highest measure of our worth or, in
fact, of our existence? In that case, is our value measured by how well we
think? Or how much we think? Or how brilliantly we grasp the implications
of what we think? My mother, quite obviously, thought not… And I agree.
In the Western world,
academic or intellectual thought has, to an extent, become the new religion.
Materialism and the ability to measure and explain it - the science of matter -
has become the primary way in which we filter the world around us. Valuable
though that is, I would argue that it is not, by any means, the most valuable
thing, nor the only valuable thing. Our “Being” - our existence - and our
perceptions of it, go far beyond the material - and, I would suggest, far
beyond our ability to comprehend it intellectually.
I am. I don’t have to
understand, to be. Sometimes, in fact, it’s probably very healthy to pause in
our tendency to over-think, and to simply acknowledge that “I am”. Life is. It’s
complex, wonderful, breathtaking, miraculous. Thinking is a part of that - an
inestimably valuable and precious part… But it’s only one sparkling facet in
the jewel of our existence.
by Ruth Calder Murphy
I am:
A complex, beautiful,
creative depth
of caverns and caves
and plunging pools
to scramble, explore
and dive...
I am:
a crazy puzzle -
pieces flung far and
wide;
from galaxies and
memories
and traces of DNA
that didn’t get away
in the history of
making me Me.
I am:
a maze -
amazed and amazing,
caught in time and in
this tiny body of mine -
that in spite of what
I put it through,
still manages to
smile and shine my spirit through the cracks:
to carry me on and
get things done,
to move on at
seemingly dead ends and not look back,
to seek out the
fraying threads
and somehow,
make ends meet...
I am:
from my tousled crown
to my hard-worked feet
I am - and continue
to be:
wondrously,
miraculously, inexplicably…
I see
reflections - in my
own depths -
of my ever-changing
skies -
and of my self in
other people’s eyes -
and in memories that
help to make me wise -
or wiser than I was
before…
I am:
I am,
no less, no more,
no matter what the
how or why…
I am:
I am,
and all I am
is I.
Ruth Calder Murphy is a writer, artist, music teacher, wife and mother living in London, UK. Her life is wonderfully full of creativity and low-level chaos. She is the author of two published novels, The Scream and The Everlasting Monday, several books of poetry and one or two as-yet unpublished novels. More of Ruth' Spiritual poetry can be found in her book, Spirit Song and the soon-to-be-released sequel, "River Song". She is passionate about celebrating the uniqueness of people, questioning the unquestionable and discovering new perspectives on old wonders. She is learning to ride the waves that come along—peaks and troughs—and is waking up to just how wonderful life really is. You can visit Ruth and view more of her art on her website, or on her writer's page on Facebook. All her books are available on Amazon, here.
~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~
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