A Bright Place to Sit and Think

It was an extraordinary day in New York City - especially considering the snow flurries we got yesterday! After my walk through the park on my way to the Met, I could barely bring myself to go indoors (it'll be wonderful when the rooftop garden opens in May). Nonetheless, I entered my sanctuary yet again, with no agenda as usual, when I remembered the perfect spot to go.

The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery contains Chinese sculpture from the 5th - 6th centuries, including a gigantic mural, called Pure Land of Bhaishajyaguru, the Buddha of Medicine. It was here that I stopped to think on my first solo visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art about a year ago. I distinctly remember contemplating the disappointing fact that I will never know everything, though I am forever fascinated with the complexity and scope of our existence. The following is an excerpt from the journal entry I wrote that day:

I am overwhelmed by the amount of information out there. The timeline and variety of human civilization is baffling to me... As is the scope of the universe and its history, and the laws that govern the physical world, and the instances in which those laws are broken or proven null. As I sit in the Met listening to a French tour, thinking of all the different languages that ever existed, and the customs, artwork, belief systems and rituals, I've decided that we as the product of this history should have a profound reverence and appreciation for it — as well as general bewilderment.