Emotional Catch-22 © 2004 Clara Chandler (Excerpt)
Fear and rage are the hellish progeny of violence. The human spirit’s finite capacity for both eventually results in emotional numbness and death of the soul.
Paradoxically, human nature denies its fundamental essence in order to survive.
To preserve its existence, the expressive soul must emit emotion. A true Catch-22 situation, fear and rage provoke such intense spiritual pain the soul chooses to cease feeling in order to survive. Yet to survive, the soul must acknowledge its basic essence through articulation of its feelings.
Joseph Heller (author of Catch-22) greatly influenced my thinking and writing. I had the honor of corresponding with him online five years prior to his death. My profile contained a quote from his book and he sought me out.
3 comments:
Good quote.
I have been wondering about this fear and rage myself too. I often see it in other people, but recently invariably begin to see it in myself. I think I tended to deny or ignore its existence in my own mind and pretended that it wasn't there. Furthermore, I seemed to condemn or hate people who had a lot of rage. I guess because they made me afraid.
It has been said that fear is the opposite to love. Apparently we human beings are meant to go through experiences with fear, pain and suffering. There must be a point in all of this.
Monica,
Thank you for reading and commenting on "Emotional Catch-22." We are unable to isolate our lives to keep violence from touching us daily. As a result, our spirits face violence must and respond with an emotion.
The gentle spirit disdains fear and anger. But when the same gentle spirit recognizes violence, it's faced with a dilemma, the Emotional Catch-22 -- to ignore, or to feel? One cannot do both.
-- Clara
quit writing stuff I have to read over ..
5 times :> D
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