☀️ David Whyte

Gravity

is a word that all dreamers must be acquainted with. Let us ponder these two words: "gravity" and "dreams;" for they share the same ethereal quality, yet they are always in tension with one other. The dreamer casts their focus beyond the clouds, while gravity keeps everything on the ground. Gravity keeps *every-*thing on the ground. It is the unspoken force that binds suns and planets, moons and mountains, homes and oceans; it is the cosmic glue, the water in which we swim.

Dreamers are souls who believe they can escape gravity's grip. They conjure imaginary planets, covered in marshes of hope, potential, and awe; and when they see it, when their presence is rattled by wonder, they become "epoptes," an ancient word reserved for those who see the future. But when the imagination is a river gushing wine, dreamers become drunk and delirious, chasing multiple futures, each one a meteorite, until they run out of steam in a dark void.

Without gravity, dreaming is a burden. Without gravity, dreamers burn out. What is to be yearned for when the thousandth flame is quelled, and you stand empty-handed at what seems to be the final juncture? You don't need more planets. You don't need more perfect planets. You need a center, an origin, an attractor, a magnet, a sun; just one thing, a linchpin, an anchor for dreams to orbit from.

To act from gravity as a first premise means to do something uncomfortable: sacrifice. It means saying no to exotic flashes behind your eyes. It means to only consider ideas with magnetism towards each other. It means not all roads lead to El Dorado. It means to reject proposals that incubate and blossom from within your soul.

But gravity has a consolation. The pain of letting go is forgotten like winter, when new growth springs from the dreams you've chose to nurture. After all, life depends on the presence of a radiant sun. Only in the heart of gravity will dreams nourish each other. Only in the heart of gravity will you witness the unfolding of destiny. For gravity breeds momentum, and instead of chasing your dreams, your dreams will propel you.