The "I-Don't-Know-What" at the Center of All Things

I get a few, key newsletters sent to me each day. One comes from the renowned Franciscan monk, Richard Rohr and his team at the Center for Action and Contemplation. In today’s note, there was a translation of a poem by John of the Cross, translated from its original Italian.

To be honest, I don’t usually read religious texts, nor am I interested in religious dogma or teachings, but I trust Father Richard as his daily emails are always so powerful. Today was no different: I’m glad I took the time to open and read the text as it was exactly the spiritual message I needed today:

"...I will never lose myself
for anything the senses can taste,
nor for anything the mind can grasp,
no matter how sublime,
    how delicious.
I will not pause for beauty,
I will not linger over grace.
I am bound for
an I-don’t-know-what
deep within the heart of the Mystery."

      —John of the Cross, from "Glosa á lo Divino", trans. Mirabai Starr

I was raised as and still am a practicing Jew. But this quote from the poem still rings true for me because it's not really about God or religion: it's about how - at the heart of most things - there lies a mystery. Our art form - Improvisation - is special in that it invites participants to first sit with that mystery and then… partially or fully reveal what that mystery is during the course of improvised scene work or dialogue.

The quote is about developing and then practicing a deep trust in the mystery of “not knowing” which is an awesome act of rebellion in a world that so greatly demands immediate and definitive answers.

It makes me feel lucky to have improvisation in my life today. 

By: David Koff