Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Mythic Sensibility

This was the scene outside of my apartment window this morning.  The sun did rise though the air was murky.  Some days, this is the best it gets.  The promise of sunshine that quickly gets gobbled up by the elements leaving one in a gray world.

At moments like this, one wants to retreat from the world and lose oneself.  Should it be playing a mindless game against a computer or should it be facing up to the task of navigating through the smog of life, taking on the responsibility of doing rather than being absent?
"The flight from suffering, from consciousness, from personal responsibility in the face of the immensity of the space we traverse, is understandable; we are all familiar with it.  But when we examine the course our life demands, our own nature demands, we commit ourselves to it, then we are obeying the will of the gods, truly.  Such obedience may bring little comfort or security, but it will bring a larger life." (Hollis, Mythologems, pp21-22)
Yes, at times I want to escape it all, blame others for everything, have others be responsible for everything.  Sometimes it is just too heavy.  And at times, I just say the hell with it and abdicate all responsibility and do as little as I can get away with for a while.  But then, something pulls me back into presence, into doing my part, into being responsible, at least for myself and my small space of the whole.  At these times, it isn't as though I have much of a choice, not if I am still to remain a man, a sane man.

4 comments:

  1. There are times I want to run and hide as well but something draws me back, over and over.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is the interesting part of mid-life, not being able to pull the wool over our own eyes anymore. Consciousness brings with it lots of responsibilities. If you feel held back, for example, you get to admit that you are the one doing the holding. Sigh ... :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lilith, being pulled back into the mess of engaging in life is good now. But, the stress is getting harder to hurdle over. A person may as well just stick with it and avoid pulling away completely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Paul - Yes - taking responsibility back and not foisting it onto one's boss, spouse, mother, father - whoever.

    ReplyDelete