Wednesday, April 06, 2005
On the meaning of pain
Oscar Wilde once observed on some writing, "The good were rewarded and the wicked were punished. That's how you know it's fiction."The statement may be cynical, but it speaks to the injustice we all perceive in the world.
It is sometimes suggested that pain and suffering are God or nature's way of telling us something is wrong. In this vein, moral suffering - agony of spirit - would be divine law's way of steering us to righteousness.
But too often the goodhearted are long suffering while the indifferent are equally unscarred.
If we conceive of pain as divine judgment, this seems very miscalibrated, for it leads the righteous to question their most noble deeds while the iniquitous mock the good for what they see as useless piety.
But if we treat pain as a teacher, things become clearer. The wise teacher instructs all who will listen but concentrates on those who can learn the most.
Could it be that the wicked among us who escape pain do so because nature and God recognize they can't be taught?
Could it be that the righteous unconsciously attract pain by their desire to know and understand the whole of God's creation, with pain being its most mystifying element?
The gurus tell us to focus our attention on what we want in our lives. If we focus on the good that comes into our lives, that will be what we most notice, even if it isn't what is most present. If we focus on the evil in the world, that will be what we most notice, even if it isn't what is most present.
The wickedly indifferent, then, surpass the heartily righteous in their collection of life's bounty.
Does this mean we too should be wickedly indifferent?
No. It means we should cultivate detachment from both the evil and the unpleasant, concentrating on the good and just. Only in this way will the greatest number of souls know fully the splendor of God's creation.
posted by gbarto at 1:25 PM