knowing the source

How does a person know the source?
How can any man grasp the thoughts, will, or concept of a spiritual, supernatural being? I don't mean the "concept" of the source, or the structure and reason behind it - I mean the source itself.
We read many books. We study. We think and learn and remember. We know about it all in our heads.

Can you know the ocean without swimming in it?
Can you know heat without feeling the warmth of an afternoon sun?
Can you know the numb of freezing cold only in your head?

How can I possibly know the being who is the universe, if I never spend actual time exploring, enjoying, touching, breathing. Pages and writings from past experiences, cannot fill the void. There is a space in all of us, every creature, that can only be met, by interacting with the source in a real way. No faking, no subjective thoughts, no feelings.

I ran my hands across the stones - a smoothness carved by hundreds of thousands of years. I felt the hardness of the source in those rocks.
I was carried by a wave on the ocean, lifted high into the air, and then crushed under the incomparable power of the water. I felt the strength of the source beneath that wave.
I touched the skin of another human, I ran my fingers along her arm and held her small fingers in my hand. I felt the softness of the source on that baby girl.
I watched the sunset over Delicate Arch, the beams of purple, or red, of crimson, of blue, and yellow. I felt the beauty of the source on that mountain, watching the day end.

I am never closer to the source, that when I am in the source, or laying beside the source, or running my fingers through the sand of the source, or swimming in the waters of the source. Life and god are never real, until you have felt them all over you.
I've said goodbye to words for a few days, and climbed all over god's hands - I know life better.


(Andrew Tipton)