As I continue reading, I keep commenting on the novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. My further reflections on the novel is that Hesse, as I see it, proposes that our plight as humans may be to learn to enjoy the daily and the mundane, to embrace life's pleasures and surrender ourselves to intimacy, while suffering the pangs of loneliness, isolation and abandon - the pangs of knowing there is something more we can't attain. Perhaps the attainment is locked into the daily routine. Perhaps it is hidden in the joys of sharing with others. Perhaps it is hidden in human encounters where we let ourselves experience the moment and subdue the intellect. Perhaps it is all of the above.
We should keep our focus off our "wolf" side. This is not our spiritual side, but it is the part that has trouble fitting in. We all have that aspect, some stronger than others. Those that do acknowledge this other half may have trouble balancing the two. That is our challenge and the idea of practical spirituality -- trying to incorporate all of our thoughts anhd desires, in balance, into our lives. And you? Have you achieved that desired equilibrium? I still struggle.
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