Francis Bacon said, “By indignities man comes to dignities.” Stated a different way, it could read thus: man succeeds through failure. Ancient teachings, especially those that originated in Asia, are rife with this enduring truthhood.
From one perspective, the yin-yang symbol exemplifies the notion that in all light is some darkness; that fear is rooted of joy; that the elixir of happiness is best distilled from wells of sadness. Therefore, experiencing loss is as beneficial as the gain that comes after it; without such loss, one struggles to see a clear path forward.
Perhaps one reason why Americans are turning away from their Western, Christian heritage and toward Eastern modes of living is that the former tend to promote the notion of an invisible afterlife free of suffering instead of setting forth teachings and tools useful in the immediate engagement of pain and loss while still alive. Without a temporal body, what loss could we possibly endure? To what dignities would we dare strive without a physical vessel to contain them in? Deep thoughts this Monday morning fill. Aho.
americanifesto / JPR / whorphan / 場黑
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