I Have Only Now

[cedar_grove]

The women knead dough
to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven,
and our out drinks unto the gods.

--Jeremiah 8:18

What makes goddesses necessary? If the divine exists beyond our human dualism, why can people not accept that any image is but a shallow and limited vision of what cannot be pictured?

This is in essence an existential question that goes beyond the human necessity to 'picture' god in order to reach out to the divine, at least in my mind it is. If we, as humans, were able to accept our own divinity, that we are, in essence, the image of, and a part of the creative force of the universe, perhaps we would not be so reliant on such images to anchor our understanding of that which cannot be imagined.

Authors from many genres have attempted to address this issue in many different ways, yet two of my favourites - for different reasons, one I love to love, and one I love to hate - have summed it up in deeply perfect ways. Heinlein, (thou art god), and Herbert, (He /is/ the Quizatz Haderach). Both authors explore the concept of divinity and the quest for divinity and divine understanding. They give no answers, which is most refreshing, because it leaves us, as readers to think, and to enjoy the journey of discovery of ourself and our own place in the universe when we empathise with the characters.

My favourite of all ideas from the Dune series, however, underlines the dual nature of divinity and self awareness as a part of the divine, as Chani turns to Paul - knowing that she is destined to sacrifice herself to bring forth transformation, she tells him, "My love, you may have eternity, I have only now." and perhaps, that is the key to accessing that divinity within, the dichotomy of male and female, yin and yang, light and dark... to know the eternal and the finite within each of our selves.... rendered here in Arabic on which much of the Fremen language is based: Ana andi dilwati bass.