Image by Obsidain Photography from Pixabay
Did you ever try to guess what your Christmas presents were as a kid? You’d pick up the wrapped present. Inspect it carefully. Gauge its weight. And give it a gentle shake to see if the noises emitted would provide any information as to the hidden identity of the gift. Though you weren’t aware of it at the time, you were engaging in a process of discovery, characterized by curiosity and experimentation. There was a truth to be known – what was inside the box – and you were able to learn certain elements of that truth through your exploration of the wrapped gift. Of course, unless you were really good, you didn’t learn the full truth until Christmas morning!
As adults, the truths that we’re concerned with have become much bigger, but the process of uncovering them remains the same. It’s still curiosity-driven discovery through exploration and experimentation. Only now we’re after universal truths about the meaning of life, who we are, and what we owe to our fellow humans. These truths are less knowable than the hidden identity of a Christmas gift. And there isn’t an imminent Christmas morning where all truths will be revealed (at least to my knowledge). But there are still opportunities to oblige our curiosity and uncover elements of the truths of the universe.
This isn’t the part where I dive into religion. I will briefly say that, in my opinion, at its best, religion can be a truth-seeking endeavor. My studies of world religions have led me to conclude that many have amassed a certain amount of truthful wisdom. Further, I do believe there are different ways of knowing; science, philosophy, and religion, are all, at their best, ways of knowing truth. But it’s not religion that I’m getting at here. Perhaps another time.
What I’m getting at is…meteorites. Metaphorical meteorites, or course. I promise this is going somewhere. Real meteorites are made up of elements, generated during the big bang, that have built the universe and everything it contains. They collide with Earth occasionally, allowing us to discover, explore, and experiment with them. You might say meteorites are small pieces of a larger universal truth. In the same way, there are certain ‘truth meteorites’ that we get to engage with and learn from, in our lives. They don’t contain the entirety of the truths of the universe, but they are part of the whole truth.
Chess is an example of a ‘truth meteorite’. It is a game in which the possible variations approach infinity. Contained within the game of chess are pieces of truth and wisdom about life, not every truth of course, but parts of the broader whole. German chess player Siegbert Tarrasch once said, “Many have become chess masters; no one has become the master of chess.”. This is an essential component of a truth meteorite. It is an infinite game and even the best players cannot master it.
Music is another ‘truth meteorite’. Music is even spookier than chess because we understand it even less. Sure, anyone can learn to read music, and most people can learn an instrument well enough to play a song. But music contains an infinite number of variations, not just in combinations of notes, but in tempo, volume, instrument, venue, listener, and player. There is a universal truth contained in music that we do not understand, but we get glimpses of when a piece stirs up emotion within us.
A ‘truth meteorite’ is a piece of the whole truth, and because of this, it can teach wisdom that applies broadly in life. It is an infinite game that transcends the ability of even the best player. Pursuits like chess and music (and others like math, art, writing, perhaps even comedy, acting, poker, etc) are windows into the truths of the universe. When we approach them with curiosity, looking to discover through exploration and experimentation, we expand our minds and enhance our worlds.
If you are looking for truth or wisdom, find an infinite game that speaks to you and attempt to become its master.
MW 