Image: L'étoile matinale (Morning Star) from the series, Constellations, by Joan Miro, 1940.
“We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars.” - Jack Gilbert from the poem, “Tear it Down.”
I found this elegant restatement of the zen concept of “beginners mind” tucked away in a poem in Gilbert’s book, “The Great Fires.” The book was a gift from my dear friend Richard on the occasion of my retirement from construction life. It marked the beginning of my journey as a songwriter.
And how appropriate that quote was to a beginning writer! I take “unlearning the constellations” to mean the effort to recognize that, like constellations and stars, there’s a difference between what my mind has constructed from what my eye has reported and what is actually there. I guess I’ve been trying to unlearn the constellations ever since, to take apart preconceptions and learned shorthand for things in the world in order to write honestly about what, and who, is actually there.
I find it hard work to summon and maintain the level of attention required to remember that the garden is an idea, a human construct. That the rose in the raised bed is not; that the hum of the refrigerator and the quiet conversation in the next room are more than “the sounds of the morning.” And that my idea of love, what I think it is or should be, can obscure the actual, unique relationship I have with someone.
What does “unlearn the constellations to see the stars” mean to you? Where do you see constellations and what are the stars you’d like to see more clearly? How does Gilbert’s quote resonate with your life and work? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments.