I wrote a response to Trev just this morning that mentions what I purpose for my existence - to make and enjoy beautiful things. At the same time, I am troubled by the malevolence in the world. It makes me sad. I can't or don't want to reframe every bit of shit that I witness in a way that makes it palatable.
Last night I wrote a bit about Burning Man, which I include below. There's not a solution written in, because anything I might suggest would be too pat, not acknowledging how incredibly messy life tends to be. I can, however, live in the way that's most conducive to what I want (cf purpose above), and thus, perhaps, be the change I want to see.
I'd heard of Burning Man before. Christians have described it as a hedonistic and evil festival.
Pronoia has a very different, relaxed, positive, life-giving description. Though I might be a bit uncomfortable being there, it sounds like a blessing upon those who attend.
People fail to understand others' point of view every day. Sometimes they condemn, sometimes they live and let live. One result of condemnation is that any genuine exchange of ideas is avoided - everyone's mind is already made up. The negativity makes me sad, sick, exhausted.
The higher road avoids condemnation. (There are a plethora of assumptions built into that statement, yes.)
Peripheral to this post is the knowledge of how my mother and sister consider an aunt, who has departed from the family's Catholic faith. (Brother, father, cool grandparents, and assorted others, I don't know about.) By implication, they'd condemn me, too. That weighs on me.
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9 comments:
"Though I might be a bit uncomfortable being there, it sounds like a blessing upon those who attend." I agree, it sounds like a blast, but I also feel I may be out of place?
It's difficult knowing that your family disapproves of your spirituality (or lack thereof, in their minds). I have a bit of that too, although they've been pretty good about letting me go my wayward ways. It can get rather disconcerting at times.
By way of illustrating that the grass is always greener, my family is pretty laissez-faire about religion/spirituality, so much so that I sometimes wish they'd think I were some kind of heretic so we could at least engage on that level!
More to the point of what you wrote: the higher road avoids condemnation, yes. But so does the lower road, only in a less "enlightened" (or wise, or mature) sense, and that's where a lot of the confusion lies. THE GREAT KW uses the example of the counterculture during the Vietnam War--some very spiritually, politically, intellectually intelligent people were opposed to the war and trying to find a better way of being in the world; but their movement was diluted by people who just wanted to have a hedonistic good time, experiment with sex and drugs, etc. And the people in the middle, developmentally,--i.e., the mainstream culture--couldn't really tell the difference between the two elements, and so they threw out the baby with the bathwater. I think there's something to this theory.
The lower road avoids condemnation because it doesn't know any better; the higher road avoids condemnation because it's able to discern. Maybe?
Andrew, please don't wish your family thought you a heretic. I'd rather mine didn't give a shit than were vehemently and narrowmindedly convinced that they are Right. At every too-frequent phone conversation I hide major details of my life.
Trev, I've dreamed from time to time of buying a couple hundred acres of land in Wyoming and inviting a few cool people to come and have a self-supported colony of sorts.
Disconcerting is a good word for it.
I guess all I meant by that--and sorry if it sounded glib--was that I sometimes wish they WOULD ask about certain aspects of my life, and that what I said when they asked would impact them one way or another; that's all. I certainly don't mean to downplay your pain at all.
As to the land in Wyoming...sign me up.
A, You didn't offend me, and I didn't catch what you really meant by your comment. It seemed that you were claiming the grass to be greener on my side... with the aforementioned aunt's (non-catholic, I'll be reading ee cummings) wedding at the end of next week, I'm a bit edgy.
Good old e.e. is my wife's favorite poet. Which poem is it? "stand with your lover on the ending earth" would be good for a wedding...
Thanks to A, glad to see some understand there were two camps during the VN period in the USA struggle, maybe you see that the hedonistic camp was absorbed by the establishment (the capitalists)and became a variety of products and markets( the Christian population became the biggest consumers in and of these, to its' subsequent diminishment), while the other camps was thereby reduced and split and fell away?
Pardon me for butting in.
Hi Julie
It's been awhile since I've popped in and read your blog. I'm still reading your link to burning man (Thanks for sharing)...wow! sounds like a wild and arsty place. The layout sounds interesting too. Point Zero or Ground Zero in Nevada.(did you check out the layout design?) I think I'll check it out this summer and experience what it's all about!
Thanks again for sharing.
A, it's "i carry your heart with me". Any idea how to break up the phrasing?
Hi Kathy, glad to see you stopping by! I haven't looked through the whole Burning Man website, but did see an aerial of the site - pretty amazing!
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