The Mindfulness Blog

King Crimson was a band that was (for me) truly transformative. Other bands generated raw energy, but they got me thinking about the substance behind all that energy. Robert Fripp et al. were fantastic musicians, and Peter Sinfield was an even better lyricist:

     Said the straight man, to the late man
     Where have you been?
     I've been here and, I've been there and
     I've been in between.

An incredible lyric, that led me to a new appreciation of the, "in between". The liminal world that exists between the conscious and the unconscious-- the threshold between one thing and another. Everyone pays attention to the beginning and the end, but what about the middle?

The middle is the connection between the initial premise or statement of being, and the ultimate lesson learned. It's the transition from something (or somebody) yet to be, to something (or somebody) that is. The "in between" is active and often uncertain-- it's even often unlikely-- that's why it is so interesting,

The next time you read a book (especially fiction), pay attention to the middle. Analogizing a book to a sandwich, the bread is certainly important, but what's in the middle is (at least, for me) every bit as important. It's the stuff "in between" that really engages my senses-- both the fixings and the condiments.

Many transitions are hard to define or understand with absolute clarity and are easy to question, or about which to be skeptical. I'm very wary of skepticism, as a place to begin one's inquiry-- it implies a pre-judgment or resistance that is anathema to openness and curiosity.

Talking to the wind (or, more accurately, listening to the wind) requires one to be open, and curious-- try it!