I realized that the search for the Knowledge has encouraged us to think of the House as if it were a sort of riddle to be unravelled, a text to be interpreted, and that if ever we discover the knowledge, then it will be as if the Value has been wrested from the House and all that remains will be mere scenery.

The sight of the One-Hundred-and-Ninety-Second Western Hall in the Moonlight made me see how ridiculous that is. The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.

Susanna Clarke, Piranesi

Prompts to discuss

What are some practices that would help you shake your grave clothes off so to speak? Step out of the hyper-productive human mindset into more of a reflective, spiritual mindset seeking presence and appreciation for what is rather that what something might yield?

In what ways have you allowed a means to an end mentality take you away from presence?

In what ways have you allowed a presence mindset stifle the means to an end?

Using your imagination, what do you think humanities relationship to the earth could look like if we saw the earth as valuable because it is the earth? That it is enough in and of itself. Not solely the means to an end?

How has you view of the Divine shifted over the past 10 years? Without forcing an answer but remaining curious, does this shift offer more of a partnership with earth as it is, less, or is it unaffected? Explore why / how that might be.

When was the last time you appreciated something for what it was, not what it could offer? What do you think this looks like?