Thank you for your heartfelt comments. As a philosopher, you probably already know that you are not alone in this truth, one that is not always popular. Perhaps you know the following words of Rudolf Steiner, the philosopher and founder of spiritual science:
“Suffering is a side effect of higher development. We cannot avoid it in attaining insight. Human beings will one day say to themselves: ‘I am grateful for the joy the world gives me, but if I had to face the choice of keeping my joys or my sufferings, I would want to keep my sufferings for the sake of gaining insight. Every suffering presents itself after a certain time as something we cannot do without, because we have to grasp it as part of the development contained within evolution. There is no development without suffering, just as there is no triangle without angles... SOURCE: Rudolf Steiner – The Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World, April 21, 1909 – 2008 edition, p. 147.
“Fabre d’Olivet, who has investigated the origins of the Book of Genesis, once used a beautiful simile, comparing destiny with a natural process. The valuable pearl, he says, derives from an illness: it is a secretion of the oyster, so that in this case life has to fall sick in order to produce something precious. In the same way, physical illnesses in one life reappear in the next life as physical beauty. Either the physical body becomes more beautiful as a result of the illness it endured; or it may be that an illness a man has caught from infection in his environment is compensated by the beauty of his new environment. Beauty thus develops, karmically, out of pain, suffering, privation and illness. This may seem a startling connection, but it is a fact. Even the appreciation of beauty develops in this way: there can be no beauty in the world without pain and suffering and illness....” SOURCE: Rudolf Steiner – GA 95 – At the Gates of Spiritual Science: Lecture Eight: Good and Evil/Individual Karmic Questions – Stuttgart, 29th August 1906
The story I told has been told, re-told, and communicated through religious scripture, myth, poetry, drama and lyrics! This isn't revelation. It is reminding. Transmission. From the past to the future.
Yes, it is beautiful. And it's why in so much literature, those who want to cheat death and live forever are the evil ones. I'm thinking of Voldemort in Harry Potter and his followers (called the Death Eaters) and also of the diabolical organization C.S. Lewis describes in his novel "That Hideous Strength." I know Lewis is considered conservative, and there are many aspects of his worldview that I don't share. Yet Thiel et al. are exactly like the bad guys in "That Hideous Strength" - the book could have been written to describe them and their goals. And when I say "bad guys," I refer to Lewis's description of the demonic forces to whom the wicked ones have sold their souls as creatures who "breathe death on the human race and on all joy." Yup.
Wow! That was profound and beautifully written. I know you’ve been addressing the fools search for immortality that exists amongst some of the tech billionaires. Seeking immortality is an old notion. After all, wasn’t it taught in grade school that Ponce De Leon was seeking the “ fountain of youth?” A place where death did not exist. Perhaps extreme wealth makes it easier to give in to the notion that immortality is a worthy goal. In your piece, you clearly show why seeking such a thing loses sight of the very notion that life should have meaning and that love, in all its forms, is the best path to seek it. Acknowledging that loss is entwined with love, and accepting that all things must end, is a gift we’ve been given in seeking meaning to our lives. It may be the ultimate gift of being human.
While the choice is clearly a choice, I believe it's more difficult for those raised by parents sowing mistrust by imposing arbitrary rules and sporadic punishment -- they turn transactional, unrooted in self-mastery and congruity with Nature. We are exploring their recovery by extending extraordinary patience and our own humanity in forgiveness and empathy. Doing so deepens our own humanity, our own conviviality, our own capacity for community, and a true path forward in survival and flourishing. Judeo-christians may be mired in the sadness of expulsion from Eden, but we can reject that by forgoing our selfishness, by committing ourselves to the tending of all Nature, as indigenous people have.
California natives did so, producing what judeo-christian settlers considered an Eden, Heaven on Earth, an exchange of blood, sweat, and intelligence.
Is this behind a paywall? If not I'd like to post it on LinkedIn even though I'm disappointed on that platform, it may only reach a few people but that's better than nothing at all.
Profound and so beautifully written. Thank you for this phenomenal reflection. I still remember the first time I heard the phrase: "we let each other in through the broken places" All part of God's plan to help transform pain. Most of us do not reach out to others or certainly, not as deeply unless we need one another. So much beauty and goodness comes out of these connections that only come about through shared loss and suffering. Walking with one another through suffering deepens our connections and can bring so much healing. I am so grateful for these unexpected gifts. In these more challenging times, may we continue to fund strength, joy and healing through supporting one another.
Thank you for your heartfelt comments. As a philosopher, you probably already know that you are not alone in this truth, one that is not always popular. Perhaps you know the following words of Rudolf Steiner, the philosopher and founder of spiritual science:
“Suffering is a side effect of higher development. We cannot avoid it in attaining insight. Human beings will one day say to themselves: ‘I am grateful for the joy the world gives me, but if I had to face the choice of keeping my joys or my sufferings, I would want to keep my sufferings for the sake of gaining insight. Every suffering presents itself after a certain time as something we cannot do without, because we have to grasp it as part of the development contained within evolution. There is no development without suffering, just as there is no triangle without angles... SOURCE: Rudolf Steiner – The Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World, April 21, 1909 – 2008 edition, p. 147.
“Fabre d’Olivet, who has investigated the origins of the Book of Genesis, once used a beautiful simile, comparing destiny with a natural process. The valuable pearl, he says, derives from an illness: it is a secretion of the oyster, so that in this case life has to fall sick in order to produce something precious. In the same way, physical illnesses in one life reappear in the next life as physical beauty. Either the physical body becomes more beautiful as a result of the illness it endured; or it may be that an illness a man has caught from infection in his environment is compensated by the beauty of his new environment. Beauty thus develops, karmically, out of pain, suffering, privation and illness. This may seem a startling connection, but it is a fact. Even the appreciation of beauty develops in this way: there can be no beauty in the world without pain and suffering and illness....” SOURCE: Rudolf Steiner – GA 95 – At the Gates of Spiritual Science: Lecture Eight: Good and Evil/Individual Karmic Questions – Stuttgart, 29th August 1906
The story I told has been told, re-told, and communicated through religious scripture, myth, poetry, drama and lyrics! This isn't revelation. It is reminding. Transmission. From the past to the future.
Yes, it is beautiful. And it's why in so much literature, those who want to cheat death and live forever are the evil ones. I'm thinking of Voldemort in Harry Potter and his followers (called the Death Eaters) and also of the diabolical organization C.S. Lewis describes in his novel "That Hideous Strength." I know Lewis is considered conservative, and there are many aspects of his worldview that I don't share. Yet Thiel et al. are exactly like the bad guys in "That Hideous Strength" - the book could have been written to describe them and their goals. And when I say "bad guys," I refer to Lewis's description of the demonic forces to whom the wicked ones have sold their souls as creatures who "breathe death on the human race and on all joy." Yup.
Wow! That was profound and beautifully written. I know you’ve been addressing the fools search for immortality that exists amongst some of the tech billionaires. Seeking immortality is an old notion. After all, wasn’t it taught in grade school that Ponce De Leon was seeking the “ fountain of youth?” A place where death did not exist. Perhaps extreme wealth makes it easier to give in to the notion that immortality is a worthy goal. In your piece, you clearly show why seeking such a thing loses sight of the very notion that life should have meaning and that love, in all its forms, is the best path to seek it. Acknowledging that loss is entwined with love, and accepting that all things must end, is a gift we’ve been given in seeking meaning to our lives. It may be the ultimate gift of being human.
Really beautiful. Thank you 🙏 💗
While the choice is clearly a choice, I believe it's more difficult for those raised by parents sowing mistrust by imposing arbitrary rules and sporadic punishment -- they turn transactional, unrooted in self-mastery and congruity with Nature. We are exploring their recovery by extending extraordinary patience and our own humanity in forgiveness and empathy. Doing so deepens our own humanity, our own conviviality, our own capacity for community, and a true path forward in survival and flourishing. Judeo-christians may be mired in the sadness of expulsion from Eden, but we can reject that by forgoing our selfishness, by committing ourselves to the tending of all Nature, as indigenous people have.
California natives did so, producing what judeo-christian settlers considered an Eden, Heaven on Earth, an exchange of blood, sweat, and intelligence.
Is this behind a paywall? If not I'd like to post it on LinkedIn even though I'm disappointed on that platform, it may only reach a few people but that's better than nothing at all.
It is not paywalled.
I can’t express in words how much I love this.
Profound and so beautifully written. Thank you for this phenomenal reflection. I still remember the first time I heard the phrase: "we let each other in through the broken places" All part of God's plan to help transform pain. Most of us do not reach out to others or certainly, not as deeply unless we need one another. So much beauty and goodness comes out of these connections that only come about through shared loss and suffering. Walking with one another through suffering deepens our connections and can bring so much healing. I am so grateful for these unexpected gifts. In these more challenging times, may we continue to fund strength, joy and healing through supporting one another.
❤️ love is possible, meaning is real
Lovely. In my own framework I might note additionally the concept of acceptance versus denial but really a beautiful piece, agree with Paul also.
That will stay with me… in finitude💖