Saturday 12 October 2013

Deeply Unhelpful


The M3 in heavy rain, seen from Twyford Down

Here is something I read over the summer that I found thought-provoking:
The words we constantly use and the narratives we write reinforce a drama of selfhood that we in the West complacently celebrate. There is also much consolation taken in the way in which writing and narrative can transform emotional pain into a form of entertainment, wise and poignant in its vision of our passage through the world, intense and thrilled by its own intensity. Narrative is so often the narrative of misery and of the passage through misery.

What silence and meditation leaves us wondering, after we stand up, unexpectedly refreshed and well-disposed after an hour of stillness and silence, is whether there isn’t something deeply perverse in this culture of ours, even in its greatest achievements in narrative and art. So much of what we read, even when it is great entertainment, is deeply unhelpful.

From Inner Peace, an article on meditation by Tim Parks, Aeon, 26/7/2013
Hmm, is King Lear cathartic or deeply unhelpful?  As the exam papers say, Discuss...  The Ten Thousand Things vs. No-Mind. Amphetamine vs. Prozac. An all-nighter vs. a good night's sleep.

5 comments:

Dave Leeke said...

Hmm, this is going to take some very deep thought, Mike.

Interestingly, it hits upon all sorts of recent thoughts, including - interestingly - the Summer "Blog Drought".

I'll have to get back to you on this one. Somewhere, there is a little voice reminding me of that ridiculous need to write songs (and poetry etc). It's possibly about how we only tend to write when we're miserable: how many genuine joyous songs are there? And the search for the sublime kicks in . . .

Mike C. said...

Dave,

All I know is that, the older I get, the more I come down on the side of a good night's sleep. Can't decide whether this is "wisdom" or "exhaustion"...

Mike

Dave Leeke said...

What's a "good night's sleep"?

Mike C. said...

"What is a good night's sleep"? This is my quest. I'll let you know.

Mike

Dave Leeke said...

Okay, I'll check back in at about 3 o'clock.