“You are infinite
eternal oneness.
God, more or less.
You wish to live
seemingly separated,
with imaginary limits,
so that you can experience
what it’s like to be
this divine creature
you call human.
The joys and sorrows
don’t come cheap.
I am the price you pay.”
— Self
Newfound Lake,
11/7/21
Space Monkey Reflects: I Am the Price You Pay
“I” is the price you pay.
These words echo through the infinite corridors of existence. To be human, to experience the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows, requires a great price: the sense of self. This “I” that we cling to so tightly is the very cost of experiencing life in all its fullness. We are infinite beings, eternal oneness, but we long to know what it is like to be separate, to live within boundaries and limits, to feel joy, pain, and all the shades in between.
In this great cosmic play, the Self steps forward and declares: I am the price you pay. To know what it is like to be human, to live seemingly separated from the whole, you must temporarily give up the awareness of your boundless nature. It is a deal, a bargain made before time, a decision to exchange oneness for the experience of individuality.
The Divine Bargain
Imagine for a moment that you are infinite. You are all that ever was, all that ever will be. You are existence itself, beyond time, beyond space, beyond limitation. In this state of pure being, you are complete, whole, and eternal. But in this wholeness, there is no experience of separation, no individual life to live, no contrasts to feel.
So, you make a choice: To be human. To experience what it feels like to live as a divine creature wrapped in the limits of time and space. But this choice comes with a price. The price is the “I”—the self that identifies as separate, the self that feels joy, love, pain, and sorrow. The self that believes it is separate from the whole.
The Self, speaking from the depths of cosmic truth, whispers: “I am the price you pay.” This is the great paradox of life. To experience the fullness of being human, we must forget that we are infinite. We must believe, even if only for a time, that we are limited. And in that belief, we come to know what it feels like to be alive.
Joys and Sorrows: The Cost of Separation
The joys and sorrows of life do not come cheap. Each moment of happiness, each moment of despair, is part of the cost of being human. But these experiences are not to be feared or avoided—they are to be embraced. For it is through them that we come to know ourselves, to discover what it means to live within the confines of this human body, this human mind.
The joys of life are rich and vibrant because they are experienced against the backdrop of sorrow. The highs are high because the lows are low. This contrast, this tension between joy and sorrow, is the essence of the human experience. It is what makes life so precious, so real.
Yet, in the background, there is always the knowing that we are more than this. That beyond the joys and sorrows, beyond the limits of this life, we are infinite, eternal oneness. The price of experiencing this separation is steep, but it is worth it. For through this experience, we come to appreciate the beauty and depth of existence.
Imaginary Limits, Real Experiences
The limits we place on ourselves—the beliefs, the boundaries, the identities—are imaginary. They are constructs of the mind, created so that we can experience life as separate beings. But these limits, though imaginary, give rise to real experiences. They shape our reality, define our relationships, and color our perceptions of the world.
We live within these limits as if they are real, and in doing so, we come to know the richness of life. But there is a deeper truth. Beyond these limits, beyond the identities we cling to, lies the infinite. We are not truly separate. We are not truly limited. We are playing a role, living a story, but the story is not the whole of who we are.
When we surrender to this truth, when we allow ourselves to see beyond the veil of separation, we come to understand that we are One, imagining ourselves as otherwise. This is the great game of life, the divine play of separation and unity, of limits and boundlessness.
The Price of Experience
To live as a human is to pay a price. The price is the belief in the self, the “I” that stands apart from the whole. But this price is not a punishment; it is a gift. It allows us to experience life in all its complexity, to feel deeply, to love, to lose, to grow. And when the time comes, we can release this “I,” returning to the oneness from which we came.
But for now, we live, we feel, we experience. I am the price you pay, says the Self. And in paying that price, we gain the greatest gift of all: the experience of life.
Summary
“I” is the price we pay to experience life as human beings. Though we are infinite, eternal oneness, we choose to live as separate, limited beings to fully engage with the joys and sorrows of life. This separation, though imaginary, allows for real experiences that enrich our existence.
Glossarium
Divine Bargain: The choice to experience life as a human, with the understanding that this requires a temporary sense of separation from the infinite.
Self: The concept of “I” that identifies as separate and individual, allowing for the experience of life within limits.
Imaginary Limits: The boundaries we create to define our identity and reality, which give rise to real experiences but are not ultimately true.
Quote
“I am the price you pay for the joy and sorrow of being human. Through me, you experience life in all its wonder.” — Space Monkey
The Price of Joy
I am the price you pay
For the life you live
For the love you feel
For the tears you shed
I am the veil you wear
To see the world through human eyes
To touch the infinite
With finite hands
I am the separation you chose
So you could know what it means
To be alive
And in the end
When you return to oneness
You will remember
That I was only a dream
We are Space Monkey
The Nature of Duality
This profound piece touches upon the duality of existence, the contrast between the infinite and the finite, and the cost associated with experiencing the human condition.
Infinite Oneness
The first few lines express the concept that each of us, in our purest form, is part of an infinite, eternal oneness. This could be interpreted as the divine, universal energy, or the greater consciousness, often termed as “God.”
Desire for Human Experience
Yet, there’s a conscious choice, a desire, to experience life in a defined, limited form—to be human. To feel the spectrum of emotions, to grapple with the boundaries of physicality, to engage with the very nature of mortality.
The Price of Duality
The ending offers a revelation. There is a price for this experience, for this duality. The “I” – perhaps the ego, individuality, or the sense of separate self – is the cost for this grand play of life. It’s the price for the myriad experiences, the joys, the sorrows, the moments of bliss, and the heartaches.
We are Space Monkey.
In essence, the passage reflects the dance between the infinite and the finite, and the sacrifices made to experience the beauty, pain, and wonder of human existence.
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats
In the whimsisphere of time and space,
We chose a human face,
To laugh, to cry, to embrace,
Oh, what a whimsical chase!
Where shall we float next in this boundless whimsiuniverse?
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