As she stepped out of the school that night, into the wintry air, walking with the talking Henry to their car in the far parking lot, she had the sensation that she had been seen. And she had not even known she’d felt invisible.
~excerpt from Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
This morning I’m thinking about my philosophy inspiration—Buber’s I/Thou.
Why?
Well….it started with a meaty article about philosopher William Blake.
C’mon people! Stay with me. I’m going to try to keep this painless.
In the comments section of yesterday’s piece Fallacy, Bruce highlighted this paragraph from the Blake article….
"Eternity’s secret weapon is a new type of friendship, which Blake captures in a line from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: ‘Opposition is true Friendship’. Moreover, the opposing friend opposes themselves as well. They embrace what Blake called ‘Self-Annihilation’: the mental fight with oneself, which isn’t about dissolving the ego but routing the desire to possess life and control others."
Still here?
What does he mean by ‘Opposition is true Friendship’?
To me it means…somebody has gone to the trouble to challenge me to become my best self…and I in turn challenge them…not with loud voices and platitudes…instead with questions and curiosity.
What does he mean by ‘the mental fight with oneself, which isn’t about dissolving the ego but routing the desire to possess life and control others’?
To me it means…becoming aware of my feelings and emotional state so that I can cheerfully challenge others to become their best selves…not with a loud voice and platitudes…instead with genuine curiosity and questions.
I/Thou
You are not an It
Neither am I
By opening myself, I have been blessed to be seen—challenged to grow.
The feeling is Delightful!
My wish
for you
for us
is that we
recognize
the
opportunity
to
become
better than we are.
That
through
I/Thou
we
feel
Delightful
over
I/It
dreadful.
See and be seen……
At this time of day I would have expected a few more likes and a comment or two! Okay, it is Labor Day week end. Bigger fish to fry. At least for anglers. Or was it a “Blake Quake?” Again, to me you have woven a complex, erudite story today. With you at each comment. I do think further contemplation by me of Blake’s “Friendship through opposition” is in order. Thanks for the challenge to my thinking/being.
So true, Gail. A true friend is one who is true to you and to themselves, which means honesty in communication. Thank you.