Cartography of the Mind (Part 16 of 17)

The following are excerpts of an illuminated book sent from Liza to the group. As usual, we publish typed excerpts of these along with the original photo. The best way is to read the text, of course, is to to experience it in its illuminated form.

Closing thoughts:

This notebook is my attempt to apply the following constant equality to my work ⟶ the process = the product ⟶ perhaps in letting go of my (our) preconceived vision(s) of the ideal, finished, and polished product, I (we) may immerse myself (ourselves) more fully in the process of communicating the story. Perhaps a shared notebook would provide us with the antidotal avenue to our planning, our organizing. And, of course, the pressure exists to plan and organize the thoughts we place inside our notebooks, but what if the secret is to present the fragments just as they are? I'm starting to see there's a wholeness to be found in compiling my many loose-leafed scraps into a unified compendium of my own confusion. Deeper than this project even. I'm beginning to see that it's only in accepting our own imperfect elements and presenting ourselves as we are—incomplete, lost, and mostly confused—that we can, ourselves, find wholeness and reclaim what Thomas Merton calls our "true self." By embracing our imperfection as an integral part of life (and growth!) we can then and only then begin helping others who, too, are incomplete, lost, and mostly confused. In a sense, I suppose, within each tribe member is a tribe of his or her own. Perhaps this has always been true, but in the age of self-imposed alienation, it's becoming increasingly more destructive and disadvantageous for the well-being of others. It's only in learning to accept each of these wildly different components for what they are that we can ever hope to establish the foundation upon which to build our village. And with those words, you've reached the end of this book. In the altered words of my favorite secular-humanist, "So it's going," for really, we are each of us, in our own little ways, just now getting started. This is only the beginning.