The Only Thing

.

There is one thing of which you can be certain beyond doubt, and that is, that you exist.  Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am.”  The words, “I think,” can be interpreted to mean, “I am conscious.”  Therefore, there are those who say that consciousness is the ultimate reality, but that is not quite correct.  The ultimate reality of which we are conscious is our own existence.  “Therefore I am.”

 

To some, this may sound circular.  It is to say, the ultimate reality is reality, or the ultimate existence is existence.  That is no more circular, however, than to say that the ultimate reality is consciousness, because the ultimate consciousness is consciousness of consciousness.

 

To be conscious, one must be conscious of something other than consciousness itself.  Okay, one may posit a theory of “pure consciousness,” a state of Nirvana, or something like that, in which there is nothing other than consciousness.  But that is a static state, not entirely unlike nothingness, a state in which not even consciousness exists.

 

No matter how hard we try, we can never truly escape the self-referential quality of the ultimate reality.  We can never escape its circular definition.  That is not a failure of the concept of ultimate reality, but rather, due to the fact that we are finite beings, attempting to encompass the infinite, a futile endeavor.

 

The concepts of zero, one and infinity are mathematical expressions of absolute, ultimate realities.  Their properties are very unlike those of finite numbers greater than one (or nonzero numbers less than one), and yet, all the finite numbers depend on zero, one and infinity.

 

This is unacceptable to some people, the idea that there are borders we cannot cross, fuzzy borders perhaps, realms of decreasing certainty where we get lost in the perilous swamps of conjecture and speculation.

 

But it is crucially important that we recognize our limitations.  This is the quality of humility.  Being humble is a much more involved virtue than it is often given credit for.  It is not simply keeping one’s head bowed.  It is a practical and valuable component of personality that makes life more rewarding.

 

We should think about the ultimate, absolute reality, but we should retain the sense of awe and mystery. 

Reality is a miracle.
.