The sage knows when to hold to this and let go of that.

Humans are, at their essence, explainers. We want to understand our world and our lives. We want to explain things to ourselves and to others. It is this essential quality that has propelled us through the ages in science and art and social relations. In the end, our lives are spent answering the how's and why's of the Universe. This overwhelming task usually takes a lifetime as we are seduced into focusing on narrow fields of understanding and coming up with distinctions that, in the end, provide temporary comfort and satisfaction but do not prove TRUE. This blog is a place for those distinctions so that, like unknown terrors that paralyze us, their naming can render them ridiculous.

Monday, August 2, 2010

There are two kinds of pained people

Those who suffer from clinical depression and those who have suffered a loss that comes from being human--a love, a relative, a job, a personal belonging. The first needs a shrink and the second needs to grieve. In the second person, the loss must be felt, must be plumbed, put in perspective, and ultimately the grace must be found to accept it. Absent that, the second person can become the first.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128874986
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