For the Very First Time

Here is something I wrote 7 years ago, that I think is worth sharing again, extended, and with the video included this time. The song sings of how a ‘magical’ carnival was looked forward to, of how, after its passing, something else ‘magical’ was seen in the background, that was actually there all along, but missed, taken for granted. It’s about anticipation, followed by exhilaration, followed by disappointment, followed by mindfulness and peace. This part is sung at 4:00 min into the song…

We sat and watched
As the moon rose again
For the very first time.

– The Carnival Is Over
(Dead Can Dance | Into the Labyrinth)

Like a haiku, these words… with the second line connecting to the first, with the third line presenting a surprise. The moon rose again, but we might be truly and fully seeing it only for the very first time. Something taken for granted transforms into magic. Like a case of ‘Zen mind, beginner’s mind’, as called by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Let me call it the spiritual virgin’s experience. This true virgin is the eternal virgin, who experiences every experience as if for the very first time – with body and mind pure, without preconceived ideas, without like or dislike – with just the experience of things as they are.

Like a virgin,
touched for the very first time.

-Madonna (Like a Virgin)

‘Touched’ in every sense of the word.

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