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djeter
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Kathleen Norris has offered the following observations about acedia: *“Let’s call it sickness, a desert malady. Anyone could lose perspective in that heat, weakened by hunger, thirst, and uncertainty. Yet a curious fact about illness, including depression, is that it can bring us to clarity. We value the quality of attention that comes to us when we are not well. In “I’m Not OK, You’re Not OK her review of The Noonday Demon, Joyce Carol Oates observes that “those afflicted with depression are often ambivalent about it, as no one is ambivalent about physical illness.”
Her latter assumption belies the fact that people of many faiths have experienced ailments and incapacities as a gateway to spiritual insight. But her observation about depression reflects the fact that many people are conflicted about a state in which the ploys they’ve used to color things in their favor are stripped away, and they sense that they are witnessing the world as it is. The light maybe harsher than we would like, but at least it forces us to see.*
Much of the above should be placed in the category “interesting to know.” Norris never really speaks specifically to defining depression within the construct of acedia (Yes and No is one response that I recall). The reason for her response, I imagine, is the wide swath of symptoms that both acedia and depression elicit. Within that swath is a very serious disorder that means trying every single day to stay alive and to thwart all thoughts and energy going into ending one’s life.
It would be easy to take Norris’ reflections or the title of Jonah Lehrer’s recent essay in the NY Times (The Upside of Depression) and believe that depression can actually have an upside or that he or she is advocating such. Neither does actually and for those who suffer from depression’s debilitating effects neither suggests that there is some silver lining available to all if only they would look.
But it makes for an interesting read, if only to consider all the permutations of depression and its overlap with the spiritual disease of sloth. I noticed in the conclusions that one therapist noted: “Once you show people the dilemma they need to solve, they almost always start feeling better.” For many that might be an introduction to the notion of atheistic despair or trying to live a life without knowing Jesus Christ. There’s a reason behind the joy of Catholicism.
Reading selections from the essay here:
payingattentiontothesky.com/2010/03/04/reading-selections-from-depression%e2%80%99s-upside-by-jonah-lehrer/
dj
Kathleen Norris has offered the following observations about acedia: *“Let’s call it sickness, a desert malady. Anyone could lose perspective in that heat, weakened by hunger, thirst, and uncertainty. Yet a curious fact about illness, including depression, is that it can bring us to clarity. We value the quality of attention that comes to us when we are not well. In “I’m Not OK, You’re Not OK her review of The Noonday Demon, Joyce Carol Oates observes that “those afflicted with depression are often ambivalent about it, as no one is ambivalent about physical illness.”
Her latter assumption belies the fact that people of many faiths have experienced ailments and incapacities as a gateway to spiritual insight. But her observation about depression reflects the fact that many people are conflicted about a state in which the ploys they’ve used to color things in their favor are stripped away, and they sense that they are witnessing the world as it is. The light maybe harsher than we would like, but at least it forces us to see.*
Much of the above should be placed in the category “interesting to know.” Norris never really speaks specifically to defining depression within the construct of acedia (Yes and No is one response that I recall). The reason for her response, I imagine, is the wide swath of symptoms that both acedia and depression elicit. Within that swath is a very serious disorder that means trying every single day to stay alive and to thwart all thoughts and energy going into ending one’s life.
It would be easy to take Norris’ reflections or the title of Jonah Lehrer’s recent essay in the NY Times (The Upside of Depression) and believe that depression can actually have an upside or that he or she is advocating such. Neither does actually and for those who suffer from depression’s debilitating effects neither suggests that there is some silver lining available to all if only they would look.
But it makes for an interesting read, if only to consider all the permutations of depression and its overlap with the spiritual disease of sloth. I noticed in the conclusions that one therapist noted: “Once you show people the dilemma they need to solve, they almost always start feeling better.” For many that might be an introduction to the notion of atheistic despair or trying to live a life without knowing Jesus Christ. There’s a reason behind the joy of Catholicism.
Reading selections from the essay here:
payingattentiontothesky.com/2010/03/04/reading-selections-from-depression%e2%80%99s-upside-by-jonah-lehrer/
dj