Societal ecstasy
I'm not sure where to begin. Or, for that matter, where to go from there.
Ecstasy is scary. It's more scary in someone else, given that we're talking about a person changing fairly rapidly and fairly completely. It's our nature to try and force that to fit a mold and a system that lets us continue to compartmentalize the world and safely keep things within boundaries.
But systems have limits. The more we try to cram things into systems that just don't go there, the more things leak out the sides. I feel like we live in a society right now that frowns on ecstasy, creativity, difference in all its forms. If you do it well, people will celebrate you and pay you considerable amounts of money, but the process between being a dabbler and getting to the point of money is hard, both because the process itself is hard (which is fine, because that's what the market will bear) but also because creative people are mocked and told to get a "real" job. Even successful ones are viewed as playing (which they are, to a point), but as though such play is bad. Why do we crave entertainment, but degrade the work that goes into creating it?
Ecstasy cannot be bought or consumerized. It's not capitalistic, not communistic, not any economic system. But when you experience ecstasy, you become more content, which makes it harder to sell things to you. So ecstasy is subtly discouraged, because it's not profitable. Happiness is supposed to be found in a soft drink or new shoes or clothes, not inside yourself. And, of course, if you can't find happiness in yourself, no amount of clothing is going to get it for you.
Have I embraced or denied ecstasy? I believe I embrace it. I try to encourage it. In that moment when I dance with the Universe, I exualt in it.
What responsibilities does ecstasy call for me to lay down? I find, more, that it calls me to take responsibilites up. When you see that you are part of a greater whole, it becomes more imperative to take interested and encourage the growth of the greater whole. It might be self-interest, but it's still impossible to ignore others when you feel connected to them.
That said, I have found that I ignore more expectations when I feel more in touch with the Divine. Expectations that I haven't agreed to and don't really like, such as what a "proper" mother is, a "proper" wife or woman, that sort of thing. I really don't care what's proper, so I have laid down those expectations. But I think I have more responsibility, because I cannot separate myself from the whole and pretend it all just doesn't matter.
The people around me .. ouch. I really don't know. I know that I see myself sometimes as more "special" because I am doing this and my husband does a day job. (I try to beat up that little voice when it pops up. After all, I couldn't do his job, either. If we were reliant upon me for income, we would be much worse off.) But it's a voice that shows up sometimes. I hope I don't stifle him. But it's hardest to encourage those that I'm close to .. after all, if hubby was just as good as I am, what need would there be for me? When I am experiencing the Divine, I do not feel this way. But when I'm not, sometimes jealousy gets the better of me. It's an ongoing process, and often a painful one.
And you know, that was a little more introspection than I'm really comfortable with. I'm going to need to think about that for a while.
Ecstasy is scary. It's more scary in someone else, given that we're talking about a person changing fairly rapidly and fairly completely. It's our nature to try and force that to fit a mold and a system that lets us continue to compartmentalize the world and safely keep things within boundaries.
But systems have limits. The more we try to cram things into systems that just don't go there, the more things leak out the sides. I feel like we live in a society right now that frowns on ecstasy, creativity, difference in all its forms. If you do it well, people will celebrate you and pay you considerable amounts of money, but the process between being a dabbler and getting to the point of money is hard, both because the process itself is hard (which is fine, because that's what the market will bear) but also because creative people are mocked and told to get a "real" job. Even successful ones are viewed as playing (which they are, to a point), but as though such play is bad. Why do we crave entertainment, but degrade the work that goes into creating it?
Ecstasy cannot be bought or consumerized. It's not capitalistic, not communistic, not any economic system. But when you experience ecstasy, you become more content, which makes it harder to sell things to you. So ecstasy is subtly discouraged, because it's not profitable. Happiness is supposed to be found in a soft drink or new shoes or clothes, not inside yourself. And, of course, if you can't find happiness in yourself, no amount of clothing is going to get it for you.
Have I embraced or denied ecstasy? I believe I embrace it. I try to encourage it. In that moment when I dance with the Universe, I exualt in it.
What responsibilities does ecstasy call for me to lay down? I find, more, that it calls me to take responsibilites up. When you see that you are part of a greater whole, it becomes more imperative to take interested and encourage the growth of the greater whole. It might be self-interest, but it's still impossible to ignore others when you feel connected to them.
That said, I have found that I ignore more expectations when I feel more in touch with the Divine. Expectations that I haven't agreed to and don't really like, such as what a "proper" mother is, a "proper" wife or woman, that sort of thing. I really don't care what's proper, so I have laid down those expectations. But I think I have more responsibility, because I cannot separate myself from the whole and pretend it all just doesn't matter.
The people around me .. ouch. I really don't know. I know that I see myself sometimes as more "special" because I am doing this and my husband does a day job. (I try to beat up that little voice when it pops up. After all, I couldn't do his job, either. If we were reliant upon me for income, we would be much worse off.) But it's a voice that shows up sometimes. I hope I don't stifle him. But it's hardest to encourage those that I'm close to .. after all, if hubby was just as good as I am, what need would there be for me? When I am experiencing the Divine, I do not feel this way. But when I'm not, sometimes jealousy gets the better of me. It's an ongoing process, and often a painful one.
And you know, that was a little more introspection than I'm really comfortable with. I'm going to need to think about that for a while.
posted by Vieva | 10:56 AM
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