Wednesday 30 January 2013

Truth and Common Sense (1)

I thought I'd better blog. One reason for blogging in the first place was what good it might do me to 'talk sense' and so make sense of my view of the world (how grandiose)! So perversely, my not wanting to post anything has also been, in part, due to a feeling of 'why would anyone want to know what going on in my head?' It was really a self-put-down. So back to blogging. I'm not that bad.

To the point of the post. Lately I've come to realise the truth about the Truth I believe. So why do so few people believe it? Well, that's a big question but I'd like to suggest a couple of reasons.
Rest to think,
know the truth
and be happy.
One, there is an inertia when it comes to thinking deeply about anything in our culture. In many ways you can't blame people for this. Apart from the culture encouraging just 'feeling good', we also live such stressful, hectic lives that (on the face of it) physically and mentally we really need rest, rather than more thinking. Think 'I need to rest', rest, then think. This is why Sunday is no longer Sunday.
An illustration of this would be where I work. After any occasional discussion that is about religion (even though it's a Catholic school) people (even myself against my better judgement) feel a need to excuse the conversation. Something along the lines of "that was deep" or "I'm glad we've sorted out the world now". Part of the reasoning is because we're at work, which is truly exhausting at times, and we're showing respect for everyone's need to not think much during our breaks. But our continual bustle to this degree isn't healthy. We are no more than living like animals if we don't reflect.
So many of us see the
world through the
 eyes of our stomachs.
Secondly, we are so ruled by our feelings that even if something were to be obvious to us, we can't overcome our feelings, and the rule-of-the-feelings. This can be strong so sympathy is often due but sometimes it is just selfishness. The obesity crisis in developed countries is a good example. On the one hand, some people have medical conditions, inherited or otherwise, that require sympathy and treatment. But on the other, some of us (and I am one who loves to eat) just indulge our senses. We do what we want, not what's obviously good for us. Now, I happen to have great difficulty putting on weight. I always appear slim, it's fair to say (cue great envy, I know) but one day my eating habits may be so strongly ingrained and my metabolism slowing down, that I will reap the rewards of following my feelings. Simply following our feelings is a path to disaster. I know from experience. They have their part to play, but it isn't the main character. The principal is principles.
Doesn't that sound like a neat diagnosis of the developed world at present? There is almost nothing we cannot do and we try really hard to do them all filling all our time. And feelings take the lead. "The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, " (1 Corinthians 2:18 NRV). I had memorised this quote close to it's more literal translation: "But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God" (Douay version). Perhaps in changing the translation we have lost the sense - in more ways than one! But the two translations cover the ground of lack of reflection/prayer and sensuality, respectively.
However, I know regarding the teaching point I should not point the finger elsewhere. The Truth of things is what we each have to wrestle with, taking the time and space to do so. It's obvious to every person they are mortal and satisfying the senses can't solve it and obscures the vision of God's laws of Love.

I don't love because I don't feel like it. I don't change because I don't stop to reflect on it.