Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf. Cover, First German Edition (1927).
Photo credit: H.-P.Haack.
I have journeyed in this life from Steppenwolf to Siddhartha, and beyond; and I know from experience, that there is a point of no-return. It does not announce itself, it just happens.
It is almost imperceptibly at first, and then suddenly, somewhere along the way, you realize that YOU have changed forever.
Once you cross over the point of no return, you experience all that befalls you as an invitation to a greater understanding and ever more awesome responsibility, and yet you feel less and less self-important with every twist and turn.
Once you cross the point of no return, you see all the craziness of the world around you as a mirror, and yet you do not lose yourself in the chaos, nor do you lose the notions of truth, or beauty, or justice.
Once you cross over the point of no-return, you only respond with love, even when you can't.
Once you cross over the point of no-return, you are not afraid, even when you are.
-- Richard Power
