Renunciation

8:04, 32:13, 33:39, 43:20, 49:18, 51:07, 53:10, 56:37, 57:35

There are a lot of ways this can be read. Overlooking the fact that the narrator seemed to go into the study already anticipating its trajectory and outcome (oh, humanity), I like it because it both acknowledges our human-ness and alludes to the lessons that ascetics and different cultures the world over have to offer us about living/loving. In general, it speaks about renunciation through exoticism/mysticism. This is one methodology, a cool one, but also potentially problematic for those who use it as proof that God/Love/Truth is to be found in some esoteric cave in some far off land or through some mystical religion with chants and instruments and candles. While these things are cool, God/Love/Truth can be found anywhere and you don't have to go searching the world over to get at it. Ironically, though, mysticism/exoticism is often used as a tool to prove universal points and put things in perspective and can be useful in this respect.