What a Concept

Krishnamurti once said: “The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see that bird again.”

The experience - the concrete, individual, unique presence of that particular bird - will be replaced by a concept.

Think of the last time you saw a pigeon. Did you take any notice of its size, shape, color, or behavior? Was it actually gray? Perhaps tinged with brown? Possibly three or four different shades of both?

You don’t remember. Your mind labeled it “Pigeon,” and your experience of perceiving that bird was replaced by your idea of a generic pigeon.

This is what it is to lack Awareness: your experience is replaced by a concept, a label which carries connotations, preconceptions, expectations.

And it doesn’t just happen with birds. We use all kinds of labels in our lives: woman, teacher, cashier, taxi driver, Mom, Brother, Spouse.

Even when our labels are positive, special, even intimate, they obscure the moment-to-moment reality of whatever has been named. Instead of being alive to the vibrant, ever-shifting Life before us, we are caught up in our mind, surrounded by our ideas of what’s around us, never really seeing what’s actually there.

How’s that for a concept?