The world beyond a given thing

This state of mind is necessary as a practical matter, which will affect the unfolding at every stage. In order to get it right, it means that at each moment, when I carry out an unfolding process, trying to find centers, make the thing more whole, I must be truly concerned to make it more whole, I must truly abandon my own desire to make a good impression or to make a vivid impression on the other people in the world.

To get it right, I must concentrate very hard on the life of the thing itself, and learn to abandon completely, my own strivings or ideas.

Part of the structure of all life or order, is that it extends beyond itself. To the extent a system has life, it is helping to make some larger whole alive. The field goes out beyond its own immediate confines, and every center draws its strength from other centers, often lying far beyond it. It is, therefore, an essential attribute of all life, that it represents a connection between the space where the order occurs, and the space beyond.

It is certain that life is not something local, a thing which merely happens in a painting or a person or a mountain. It is a relation between the thing where it occurs and the world beyond. It is a phenomenon which depends on the whole universe, and the extent to which the larger order of the universe penetrates and soothes, the order of the part whose order we are looking at. In such a world, the order springs fundamentally, and ultimately, from the connection of each part to its surroundings.

The yellow tower has the quality of not-separateness to an extent which is very rare. The tower creates the feeling, in a person who sees it, of perfect calmness. It suggest that everything in the world is alright. More extremely, we may say that it creates the sensation that everything — everything — is connected. Because it is so deeply connected — its parts to one another, itself to its surroundings — it creates the sensation that nothing is separate, that everything is in harmony.

If we push our perception a little further, and examine our reaction more deeply, we may become aware that the tower even suggests that everything is part of everything else. This happens, of course, because the tower achieves this very thing in itself. It is so deeply made, its field of centers is so perfect, that its wholeness really does extend far beyond its own boundaries. There is no feeling of limitation at its edge. The unity, the stillness which it creates, extends on beyond its walls. It melts perfectly with the paths, gardens, and outbuildings beyond. There is no discontinuity. The world around this thing is almost perfectly at one.

(Pages 306-307)