I never watched Leaving Neverland, the film about the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson. I find I’m so emotionally affected by tales of the abuse of children that detailed information like that is better passed over unless strictly needed. I did read a reaction to the film posted by a friend on Facebook which, although only a brief summary, was enough to haunt as it was.
Reading this, I thought of Camus' The Plague, in which a doctor is faced with an impossible choice: there is a fatal, contagious plague with no cure in the village in which he lives and works. Any attempt to leave his room to help treat the sick would be ultimately pointless, and would also cause him to fall ill with the fatal illness, ultimately dying. After much existentialist/ Stoic inner turmoil, he decides to leave his room to do the one thing he can do: comfort the sick. Will he die? Yes. Will they die? Yes. In that way, is it pointless? Yes. But this is the lesson of Sisyphus: to be joyful in our burden and, through it, bring order to a chaotic universe. If nothing matters and we have no influence over the forces of our lives, then all we have is what we do-- and what we do becomes maximally important. To me, this is the rebellious spirit of shamanism: life as a series of authentic acts that embody spiritual beauty regardless of the outcome in material reality. But, then again, I do drugs. So there's that;)
Thanks for these thoughts, Rachel. I loved that book, as I did everything else I read by Camus. What you said reminds me of Castaneda's teaching of acting impeccably even when action is futile. I agree that this has value, although i don't see it as truly futile, since acting in a way which increases one's own power, vitality and joy (such as acting beautifully, helping others, refining oneself) still has value, IMO. I'm showing my Spinozist cards here. I follow his thought in thinking that what I want to do is favour acting where I have more power over where I have less, for instance: reminding myself how to sew instead of posting on social media about something a government is doing on the other side of the world; joining a community of mutual care in my own city versus writing about huge, complex global trends it's unlikely I can influence much (though someone else might in fact have the power to influence such things, in which case they should).
Matthew, it’s certainly a huge concern and the odds against recovery appear sometimes insurmountable, but I don’t believe that you are only speaking to yourself. It’s very hard to even glance into the abyss, though, so I believe that it requires voices such as yours to speak it out loud to remind us all of what is happening. Well done.
Reading this, I thought of Camus' The Plague, in which a doctor is faced with an impossible choice: there is a fatal, contagious plague with no cure in the village in which he lives and works. Any attempt to leave his room to help treat the sick would be ultimately pointless, and would also cause him to fall ill with the fatal illness, ultimately dying. After much existentialist/ Stoic inner turmoil, he decides to leave his room to do the one thing he can do: comfort the sick. Will he die? Yes. Will they die? Yes. In that way, is it pointless? Yes. But this is the lesson of Sisyphus: to be joyful in our burden and, through it, bring order to a chaotic universe. If nothing matters and we have no influence over the forces of our lives, then all we have is what we do-- and what we do becomes maximally important. To me, this is the rebellious spirit of shamanism: life as a series of authentic acts that embody spiritual beauty regardless of the outcome in material reality. But, then again, I do drugs. So there's that;)
Thanks for these thoughts, Rachel. I loved that book, as I did everything else I read by Camus. What you said reminds me of Castaneda's teaching of acting impeccably even when action is futile. I agree that this has value, although i don't see it as truly futile, since acting in a way which increases one's own power, vitality and joy (such as acting beautifully, helping others, refining oneself) still has value, IMO. I'm showing my Spinozist cards here. I follow his thought in thinking that what I want to do is favour acting where I have more power over where I have less, for instance: reminding myself how to sew instead of posting on social media about something a government is doing on the other side of the world; joining a community of mutual care in my own city versus writing about huge, complex global trends it's unlikely I can influence much (though someone else might in fact have the power to influence such things, in which case they should).
100%.
Matthew, it’s certainly a huge concern and the odds against recovery appear sometimes insurmountable, but I don’t believe that you are only speaking to yourself. It’s very hard to even glance into the abyss, though, so I believe that it requires voices such as yours to speak it out loud to remind us all of what is happening. Well done.
Thanks John.