The painful lessons are the ones that really stick with you. Pain is a harsh teacher, one would think that the lessons would rarely have to be repeated.
Little kids learn pretty quick about hot, sharp, cold, wet, prickly, loud, and all the tough lessons of being a new person in the big wide world.
As an adult, you experiences other pains: disappointment, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, dysfunction, and all the other delusions of our dystopia. That's painful, but just like little kids we can learn from our adult pains.
Or not.
Somehow we are supposed to keep doing the things that cause us pain. There's a whole tool kit of things to make the pain bearable: prescription drugs, alcohol, illegal drugs, and excesses of every kind. We live painful lives and instead of changing what gives us pain, we medicate it away or try to distract ourselves with various amusements. The flash and sparkle are to pull our attention away from the arrow in our hearts.
The darkest medicine is swallowing the pill known as societal approval. Oh how the masses have suffered because everyone does it. We are a society of people walking barefoot on broken glass because we are the society that walks on broken glass. Too many of us work jobs they hate to maintain lifestyles they despise, for the approval of people they don't much like.
Some have broken free. They are no longer in pain. Society hates them and persecutes them. They've shown it's possible to break free, and that's why people hate them. The worse prison is the one you hold the key to yet are too timid to unlock. The irony is the fear that change and freedom would be painful.
Is it crazy to want the pain to go away? Is it crazy to want to be well, instead of just medicated? If it is, then I'm perfectly comfortable with crazy. It doesn't hardly hurt at all.
-Sixbears
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Yep, American society is a little tilted. I am often teased with driving my old GMC pickup (2000 with 132,000 miles) while they drive shiny cars that spend more time in the shop then my 'beater' does. Those things have power everything, just more to go wrong.
ReplyDeleteMy wife's Suzuki XL-7 (an otherwise great vehicle) has a passenger seat malfunction - the underseat sensor sometimes go out of whack if you roll out a certain way and its costs nearly $200 to fix it.
Just unplug the dang thing - no can do, insurance won't pay on items which are tampered with (we checked), so we put up with the occasional glitch. Has happened twice in past 7 years, so its not real bad. Just gets my goat when getting into the vehicle and sitting down could cause this. Maybe I need to install a strap on outside of vehicle and just hang on? :^)
I dress very casually, and stay away from trendy restaurants - a meal over $8 for me makes me lose my appetite. I'm not a picky eater either. House is small by American standards (<1800 sq. ft.) but its PAID FOR by God, so the McMansion owners can suck it. Well, maybe thats a little strong - maybe they deserve my pity instead.
Good post Six Bears.
I'm one of the crazy (lucky) ones. I follow my own drum so I don't really "fit" anywhere, which is okay by me.
ReplyDeleteI learn by rote and by trauma.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer rote.
I would follow my own drum, but sometimes my wife's drum beats a little louder.
ReplyDeleteVery well said...
ReplyDeletePain to me is a tool of my God to let me know there are adjustments that need to be made .There is some pain that you just have to bear.
ReplyDeletepain reminds us that something is wrong here...
ReplyDeleteand without pain, how do one realizes a good feeling...
the goddess blesses you all
Wildflower
I guess for most people, the pain of societal ostracization is imagined to be worse than whatever pain they're feeling at the moment?
ReplyDeleteThis reinforces my belief that you won't be disappointed in me for leaving the classroom, and becoming a "glorified camp counselor". I'm a little worried about the in-law's perspective. Not enough to let it stop me. Thanks for giving me that strength.