Posted by Michael83 on June 20, 2006, at 23:02:35
In reply to Re: Please be civil » TexasChic, posted by TexasChic on June 20, 2006, at 22:18:36
>>>>I kind of understand why you PBC'd Michael, like I said, its very easy to misconstrue in this environment. I however, read it as his way of trying to say that we, people dealing with 'mental illness' (I sure would like another term for that), are not beneath others. In fact, our introspective, obsessive nature may even make us more aware of other people's feelings.
You got it EXACTLY! That's exactly what I was trying to say. People like us reflect. Life can blur by fast for people without problems.Problems slow life down a bit and cause people to take a step back to "think things over."
Meanwhile, the masses, their lives are a blur of "blissful ignorance" and chasing the useless things of life.
Don't know why, but it reminds me of something Mark Twain wrote from "Adam's Diary."
"I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her. At first I thought she talked too much; but now I should be sorry to have that voice fall silent and pass out of my life. Blessed be the chestnut that brought us near together and taught me to know the goodness of her heart and the sweetness of her spirit!"
Twain wrote (it was a rewritten 1st person account of the Adam and Eve story) this as a reference to having an accurate general knowledge of the world (living outside the Garden), as opposed to living in the Garden (living in ignorance).
The "chestnut" is what the serpent referred to the forbidden apple as in the story, which represents I guess for me (or anyone else) as the problems (of thinking and searching for truth) which open my eyes to the world. Eve herself, the person who first ate the apple, would also represent part of the "problems," which would turn out to actually be a wonderful gift.
The first time I read that part of Twain's story was in August of 2002, when I was at my worst and in the "deconverting process." (I was basically having a nonstop, 24/7, 3 week long panic attack. I would go to bed trembling and wake up trembling .) I remember tears coming down my eyes right after I read that paragraph. To me, someone searching for self esteem to trust my own logic and search for truth, it was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever written. I remember the moment exactly. It was breath taking when the whole intention of the story came together.
(Sorry I had to vent that to someone.)
THAT'S what I mean.
Thank you for understanding my good intended post. =D I was just trying to bring those with problems up, not down.
poster:Michael83
thread:658960
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060618/msgs/659528.html