In yesterday's Line by Line post, I likened Verse 3, Line 4 to liberation theology. I also mentioned that feeling under the weather makes it more difficult for someone to focus. As it so happens, I wasn't simply making a theoretical point. My ailing right shoulder is much inflamed and movement of almost any kind makes it hurt that much more. To make matters worse, I'm still 6 or 7 weeks away from the surgery that, hopefully, will remedy the problem.
While my writing output hasn't diminished all that much, I can honestly say that it hasn't been flowing as easily as usual. In fact, I've struggled mightily with some of the posts. I know the point I want to get across, but the pain I'm suffering from tends to impede my ability to stay focused.
And this is the whole point behind the concept of liberation theology. When we are distracted by the grinding aspects of our lives, it can take all the energy we possess just to make it from day to day. When pain represents our daily calling card, it can be difficult to rise above it. In some ways, it envelops a person's being so totally that it exerts a strong influence on a person's overall outlook.
While I can look forward to some relief on my horizon, those who live lives defined by grinding poverty, severe oppression, endless war and/or constant civil unrest don't have this luxury. Everyday life simply beats them down. It robs them of hope and peace of mind.
This is why Lao Tzu makes the point that filled bellies -- representing the ideal of good health -- is a first step in providing people with the space to discover the Way inside themselves. When we are not distracted by institutionalized pain and misfortune, we are granted the freedom to come to know the mystery of the void.
It all goes back to the Taoist metaphor of the empty bowl. If pain -- in whatever form -- defines your life, it fills up your spirit, leaving no room for the effervescence of Tao. When pain is removed, then, like an empty bowl, the space is available to fill with the elixir of the mysterious Way.
While my writing output hasn't diminished all that much, I can honestly say that it hasn't been flowing as easily as usual. In fact, I've struggled mightily with some of the posts. I know the point I want to get across, but the pain I'm suffering from tends to impede my ability to stay focused.
And this is the whole point behind the concept of liberation theology. When we are distracted by the grinding aspects of our lives, it can take all the energy we possess just to make it from day to day. When pain represents our daily calling card, it can be difficult to rise above it. In some ways, it envelops a person's being so totally that it exerts a strong influence on a person's overall outlook.
While I can look forward to some relief on my horizon, those who live lives defined by grinding poverty, severe oppression, endless war and/or constant civil unrest don't have this luxury. Everyday life simply beats them down. It robs them of hope and peace of mind.
This is why Lao Tzu makes the point that filled bellies -- representing the ideal of good health -- is a first step in providing people with the space to discover the Way inside themselves. When we are not distracted by institutionalized pain and misfortune, we are granted the freedom to come to know the mystery of the void.
It all goes back to the Taoist metaphor of the empty bowl. If pain -- in whatever form -- defines your life, it fills up your spirit, leaving no room for the effervescence of Tao. When pain is removed, then, like an empty bowl, the space is available to fill with the elixir of the mysterious Way.
and yet, in some cases, pain and absence can provide one with great insight. such as monks living perpetually poor lifestyles, native americans enduring fasts and pain rituals to gain wisdom and visions, etc... but these are examples of choice... if one is forced into a lifestyle of pain and deprivation it's hard to cultivate any feeling other than exhaustion and resentment.
ReplyDeletebeing pregnant leaves a person perpetually exhausted and often in a lot of pain. however, i knowingly and willingly got pregnant... it was a choice i made, and one that has a beautiful reward at the end of the (very long) tunnel. you have 6 or 7 weeks to wait, but i have another 5 months before my pain culminates and then subsides! still, the difference lies in the fact that you never asked for your pain, you never had a choice, and your pain isn't giving someone else life. still, i think that the pain you go through opens the doors to some insight that otherwise would go unnoticed. (this post for example.) the trick is to glean something from the experience, learn something, and then rejoice when you find some relief. and i hope you find some relief soon! :)