The Thinker

I visited the Bronx Zoo which is where I took this picture of an ape. His pose reminded me of the bronze sculpture entitled “The Thinker” by artist Auguste Rodin, cast in 1904. He seemed oblivious to all the frenzied activity of the other apes around him. I saw him as in a state of just being. Experiencing the true nature of his awareness, that element deep within all of us which never changes, separate from the ego, and what we call “I”. The I within us is everlasting. Some call it soul, others call it awareness, and I call it love. Few have experienced the knowing of the I because at an early age it becomes integrated into the senses of the body and entangled with the ego. It’s not easy to peel back the layers of ego and thoughts and feelings to rediscover the true nature of the self. Maybe we humans could learn a lesson from all of the creatures that we feel so superior to. Perhaps they could show us the way back to knowing our true selves and living our lives not in “quiet desperat