symbols-contact-reality-where-discourse-cannot

# Symbols contact reality where discourse cannot The symbolic is trying to give an account of what is real; at its sharpest it is a lie that reveals a greater truth. The experience of symbolism brings you in touch with reality in a way abstract discourse never can, because a symbol is undergone rather than parsed. This is why dismantling symbols into propositions loses precisely the thing they carried. Tolkien insisted on the distinction: not allegory (this stands for that) but *applicability* — the deep structure of a story resonates with the structure of human care, and therefore finds its reflection in your life, your nation, your moment. A myth applies not because someone encoded a lesson but because what survives retelling encodes the pattern of what humans attend to. Related: [[the-net-determines-the-catch]], [[religio-is-the-binding-that-makes-a-world]], [[authenticity-is-purposeful-ritual-not-improvisation]], [[care-organizes-facts]]