The Greater Divide
No blog post I've written on here is a static representation of my core inner beliefs. When I'm blog a post about myself or my view of the world, each is merely a reflection of whatever thoughts are tumbling through my head at the time. I compose them into language in order to help myself make sense of them, and I publish them onto the Internet because I'd like to believe that there are a few other people in this world who might benefit from joining me through the process.
After I write something and publish it for the world, I often find myself returning to what I've written in my mind. Sometimes I think of a better way I could have worded something; sometimes I recognize how something I've said could be misinterpreted; sometimes the idea itself is too simple or I find a counterexample that makes me think I might have been completely wrong.
I wrote a while back that nothing tells you more about a person than how they choose to divide up human beings. Some people do this based on class, religion, race, nationality, and so on. I think it's true that the schisms a person applies to human beings say a lot about who they are, but I don't think it defines them. I'd like to believe that not everyone draws these divisions amongst their fellow human beings. I'd like to believe that some people can operate without judgment. That might be too idealistic.
I think that the notion that how a person divides up others is a symptom of a larger characteristic. Which human beings a person divides themselves from, and how they divide themselves from them, is one aspect of that person's personality. It falls under a much larger umbrella.
Suffering is universal. As a college-educated middle class white guy in America who's never had any serious health issues, I've managed to avoid all forms of physical pain thus far. Naturally, I've had my own small share of emotional suffering. This is common to all human beings. Even those who might say that psychology is an invention of developed society, all mature human beings know the pain that accompanies the loss of a loved one.
What defines a human being, more than anything, is the manner in which they try to avoid feeling or dealing with this emotional pain. Some use alcohol or other substances. Some use religion or spirituality. Some use too much food or a lack of food. Some people fall in love. Some people intellectualize everything. Some people watch too much television. And yes, some people elevate themselves above, or discriminate against, other human beings. The list goes on.
Everyone experiences emotional pain. Many people find ways of expressing this emotional pain, but every person will, at some point in their lives, do something to be avoidant. A sense of loneliness or fear strikes you one evening, and you have a glass of wine to take the edge off. I'm not saying that every person needs to always confront their emotions, in every situation, or that not doing so is irresponsible. If you're at work, you might need to put your duty before leaning into your feelings. And there certainly are healthy ways of dealing with these emotions. The line between healthy and dysfunctional is a difficult one to draw; television might help you deal with your emotions, but it also might help you avoid them. The difference is subtle.
It's the tool that you turn to habitually in order to avoid dealing with emotional pain that says the most about the kind of person you are.
After I write something and publish it for the world, I often find myself returning to what I've written in my mind. Sometimes I think of a better way I could have worded something; sometimes I recognize how something I've said could be misinterpreted; sometimes the idea itself is too simple or I find a counterexample that makes me think I might have been completely wrong.
I wrote a while back that nothing tells you more about a person than how they choose to divide up human beings. Some people do this based on class, religion, race, nationality, and so on. I think it's true that the schisms a person applies to human beings say a lot about who they are, but I don't think it defines them. I'd like to believe that not everyone draws these divisions amongst their fellow human beings. I'd like to believe that some people can operate without judgment. That might be too idealistic.
I think that the notion that how a person divides up others is a symptom of a larger characteristic. Which human beings a person divides themselves from, and how they divide themselves from them, is one aspect of that person's personality. It falls under a much larger umbrella.
Suffering is universal. As a college-educated middle class white guy in America who's never had any serious health issues, I've managed to avoid all forms of physical pain thus far. Naturally, I've had my own small share of emotional suffering. This is common to all human beings. Even those who might say that psychology is an invention of developed society, all mature human beings know the pain that accompanies the loss of a loved one.
What defines a human being, more than anything, is the manner in which they try to avoid feeling or dealing with this emotional pain. Some use alcohol or other substances. Some use religion or spirituality. Some use too much food or a lack of food. Some people fall in love. Some people intellectualize everything. Some people watch too much television. And yes, some people elevate themselves above, or discriminate against, other human beings. The list goes on.
Everyone experiences emotional pain. Many people find ways of expressing this emotional pain, but every person will, at some point in their lives, do something to be avoidant. A sense of loneliness or fear strikes you one evening, and you have a glass of wine to take the edge off. I'm not saying that every person needs to always confront their emotions, in every situation, or that not doing so is irresponsible. If you're at work, you might need to put your duty before leaning into your feelings. And there certainly are healthy ways of dealing with these emotions. The line between healthy and dysfunctional is a difficult one to draw; television might help you deal with your emotions, but it also might help you avoid them. The difference is subtle.
It's the tool that you turn to habitually in order to avoid dealing with emotional pain that says the most about the kind of person you are.