245. Filling The Gaps

A fragment is always a part and never the whole. There is always something left out. That a fragment arrives with gaps can be unsettling. The text might appear to say both more and less than what it actually says. It’s able to do this because you fill the gaps as you read. You do this automatically, whether you are aware of it happening or not.

You fill the gaps according to your normative understanding of the world. This understanding is a product of your experiences, of everything you’ve been taught and everything you’ve discovered. It is the vast collection of rules and reasons you have learned throughout your life.

When you encounter a fragment, you have to do something about the gaps in the text. You cannot simply allow the gaps to remain, because then the fragment would say everything and nothing. You must fill them in for the text to make sense in the context of your normative understanding, so you do.

The result is that a fragment always has two authors: the one who writes and the one who reads. What the fragment says is always partly a reflection of yourself. But what it reflects is not always what you expect, and it might even be something intolerable. As such, your reaction to the text can be intense and visceral, especially if it seems to say something you do not like.

But if you’re aware that you’re filling the gaps, then an alternative approach becomes possible. The fragment can be approached as a question. A question demands a response, but there are always many possible responses. The question that a fragment always asks is: how does this text fit with your present understanding?

In this way, every fragment provokes inquiry into yourself. You are asked to see if you can make this text work with your current self. If you cannot find a way to do so, then there is a problem. Not for the text, not for the author, but for you.

The problem is always your own understanding. It must be flexible enough to accept everything as it is, including every possible fragment. If you cannot find a way to do this, then you learn something important. You learn that your awareness is still narrow and you are far from the end of your suffering.