Some follow-up thoughts on Despair
I'm feeling it all over my heart today. It's usually there, somewhere, deep in the back corner and hiding, but today the iron fist has wrapped itself around me and it's squeezing. And for no apparent reason whatsoever.
Feelings like I'm having today are different than the inexplicable happiness or saddness that will pop up at different times during the day. It's deeper than that. It lies somewhere in the gut and nags at the heart and mind, making sure the smothering effect is ever-present. In the end, there's not a whole lot one can do with such a feeling - it is, after all, just a feeling.
. . . . . . .
Last time I wanted to write about the beauty which is love and how we can use that beauty to battle the clenches of despair. Today, I want to talk about the beauty of despair. Well, perhaps it's not despair, exactly, but what I'm trying to communicate is possibly despair's first cousin - pain. Pain is the effect despair has on a person, and pain is a weapon we must use.
I've a question to ask you: What is the opposite of love? Think about it before you answer. . . I can wait.
.
.
.
.
.
I've asked many people this same question, and time and time again I receive the same incorrect answer : hate. That's wrong. Hate is an emotion fabricated by humans. There are no other animals in the world that experience hate. The opposite of love is pain. And amazingly enough, the greatest love is born out of pain and sacrifice; the greastest love is compassion.
Now, you're probably saying to yourself, "what the hell does this guy know? I know dan and he's just some punk with crazy, half-baked ideas about the world and he's clearly, CLEARLY, talking out of his ass this time." You might even be right. But my opinion stands that the greatest love that has ever existed was brought to light on this earth by the man Jesus the Christ. His compassion for the world is talked about and has been talked about for two millenia now. There was even a multi-million dollar movie made about the "passion." And I think old Mel got something right in showing what horrific pains Christ had to go through to reach the keys to the kingdom. You see, the love that Christ had for the world would have been useless, were it not for the pain and sacrifice that He endured. Love, like many other spirits, is only apparent in action. Without the sacrifice, without pain, the love endureth not.
When Christ calls His people to follow Him, what He is requiring is pain and sacrifice. By sacrificing ourselves to the good of others, and most imporantly to the will of God, we open ourselves up to the possibility for love, for compassion, for understanding, and ultimately - for truth. Perhaps it could be that in our moment of greatest despair, we could find an even greater love.
. . . . . . .
-d.
Feelings like I'm having today are different than the inexplicable happiness or saddness that will pop up at different times during the day. It's deeper than that. It lies somewhere in the gut and nags at the heart and mind, making sure the smothering effect is ever-present. In the end, there's not a whole lot one can do with such a feeling - it is, after all, just a feeling.
. . . . . . .
Last time I wanted to write about the beauty which is love and how we can use that beauty to battle the clenches of despair. Today, I want to talk about the beauty of despair. Well, perhaps it's not despair, exactly, but what I'm trying to communicate is possibly despair's first cousin - pain. Pain is the effect despair has on a person, and pain is a weapon we must use.
I've a question to ask you: What is the opposite of love? Think about it before you answer. . . I can wait.
.
.
.
.
.
I've asked many people this same question, and time and time again I receive the same incorrect answer : hate. That's wrong. Hate is an emotion fabricated by humans. There are no other animals in the world that experience hate. The opposite of love is pain. And amazingly enough, the greatest love is born out of pain and sacrifice; the greastest love is compassion.
Now, you're probably saying to yourself, "what the hell does this guy know? I know dan and he's just some punk with crazy, half-baked ideas about the world and he's clearly, CLEARLY, talking out of his ass this time." You might even be right. But my opinion stands that the greatest love that has ever existed was brought to light on this earth by the man Jesus the Christ. His compassion for the world is talked about and has been talked about for two millenia now. There was even a multi-million dollar movie made about the "passion." And I think old Mel got something right in showing what horrific pains Christ had to go through to reach the keys to the kingdom. You see, the love that Christ had for the world would have been useless, were it not for the pain and sacrifice that He endured. Love, like many other spirits, is only apparent in action. Without the sacrifice, without pain, the love endureth not.
When Christ calls His people to follow Him, what He is requiring is pain and sacrifice. By sacrificing ourselves to the good of others, and most imporantly to the will of God, we open ourselves up to the possibility for love, for compassion, for understanding, and ultimately - for truth. Perhaps it could be that in our moment of greatest despair, we could find an even greater love.
. . . . . . .
-d.
posted by taliendo at
2:17 PM
3 Comments:
Interesting thoughts, and well laid-out arguement, Danny. I think, though, that the opposite of Love is indifference. Which is why Love and Pain seem so intertwined. Just a thought, of course.
guess i'm echoing bethany's thought. i also visualized the opposite of love being apathy. i shudder at hate, but can figure a way to work through it. i can visualize pain and decide to ignore it, but APATHY is an emotion -- a non-emotion i have never been able to deal with whether it be internal or external.
peace,
zayne
Well, I'm glad none of you ladies think that hate is a valid emotion. And I suppose that 'opposite of love' is perhaps not exactly the phrase I was searching for, but it's what's stuck in my head lately.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting. . .
-d.
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