I don't have any issues getting out of bed. But sometimes, I get to the end of the day, and I need the courage to go to bed. To give up on the day. I get to the end of the day, and think, what did I do? I didn't get anything done. What's wrong with me? I have to calm those voices down. Sometimes I have to say to myself, "I did the dishes. I did the laundry. I took care of my husband. Today was a tough day. It's okay."
I believe Aquinas was right. As a military vet I have been fascinated (and deeply saddened) by men that were beasts in attack situations only to be undone (suicide in some cases) by the endurance required for civilian life.
I also sympathize with the flack you have received from folks who may be caught in more severe mental illness. It seems symptomatic of our times and an error in logic to think that, because something doesn't apply to me, it can't be true for anyone. Your calls for a liberal arts education are related. We seem to have lost our ability to think and reason. If I had one word to describe the last 10 years I believe it would be - shrill. The internet has not helped this.
Yet, there are glimmers. My 27 year old son made a point today to share that he is beginning to read "Lord of the Rings"! Perhaps I'll be thought silly but I thanked God for that. I deeply believe that our imaginations are one of our greatest hopes. I live in the Psalms. Taken at face value they don't seem to make much sense, at least in an Enlightenment, scientific-method kind of way. But man, when we begin to conceive of what the Psalmist is conceiving (imagining!) - what power!
I don't have any issues getting out of bed. But sometimes, I get to the end of the day, and I need the courage to go to bed. To give up on the day. I get to the end of the day, and think, what did I do? I didn't get anything done. What's wrong with me? I have to calm those voices down. Sometimes I have to say to myself, "I did the dishes. I did the laundry. I took care of my husband. Today was a tough day. It's okay."
Really good, thank you.
I believe Aquinas was right. As a military vet I have been fascinated (and deeply saddened) by men that were beasts in attack situations only to be undone (suicide in some cases) by the endurance required for civilian life.
I also sympathize with the flack you have received from folks who may be caught in more severe mental illness. It seems symptomatic of our times and an error in logic to think that, because something doesn't apply to me, it can't be true for anyone. Your calls for a liberal arts education are related. We seem to have lost our ability to think and reason. If I had one word to describe the last 10 years I believe it would be - shrill. The internet has not helped this.
Yet, there are glimmers. My 27 year old son made a point today to share that he is beginning to read "Lord of the Rings"! Perhaps I'll be thought silly but I thanked God for that. I deeply believe that our imaginations are one of our greatest hopes. I live in the Psalms. Taken at face value they don't seem to make much sense, at least in an Enlightenment, scientific-method kind of way. But man, when we begin to conceive of what the Psalmist is conceiving (imagining!) - what power!
If you made it this far, thanks.
Shalom!