“They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield.”
―Philip Freneau
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Are You a Jonah?
"The Life of each person alternates between the impulse to individuate driven by the fear of death, and the impulse to conform driven by the fear of life. Between these two fear possibilities... the individual is thrown back and forth all his life. For most of us the fear of life predominates over the fear of death."
- Otto Rank, "Will Therapy"
"The impetus that makes you fly is our great human possession. Everybody has it. It is the feeling of being linked with the roots of power, but one soon becomes afraid of this feeling... That is why most people shed their wings and prefer to walk and obey the law."
- Hermann Hesse, "Demian"
"We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments.... We enjoy and even thrill to the godlike possibilities we see in ourselves... And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities."
- Abraham Maslow. "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature"
"The concept of greatness entails... being able to be different."
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you're thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."
"For some people this evasion of one's own growth, setting low levels of aspiration, the fear of doing what one is capable of doing, voluntary self-crippling... are in fact defenses against grandiosity, arrogance, sinful pride, hubris. There are people who cannot manage that graceful integration between the humility and the pride which is absolutely necessary for creative work. To invent and create you must have the "arrogance of creativeness" which so many investigators have noticed. But of course, if you only have the arrogance without the humility, then you are in fact [delusional]. You must be aware of the godlike possibilities within, but also of the existential limitations... If you can be amused by the worm trying to be god, then in fact you may be able to go on trying and being arrogant without fearing [delusions of grandeur]... This is a good technique." - Abraham Maslow. "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature"
Maslow's words –– like most self-anointed sages of his singular tribe –– positively REEK of arrogance and condescension.
That said commin sense tells those of us who are aware that the fear of success has always been a present factor in the consciousness of many-if-not-most. It has certainy been true of me, who was said at one time to have had "great potential."
Why should this be so?
I believe it has much to do with the FEAR of accepting the RESPONSIBILITY that goes with bearing the burden of having special talents and keen intelligence.
After all, the briefest, must cursory glance at history shows that as a rule our benighted species has treated its geniuses very poorly.
It ain't necessarily so It ain't necessarily so The t'ings dat yo' li'ble To read in de Bible It ain't necessarily so
Li'l David was small, but oh my ! Li'l David was small, but oh my ! He fought Big Goliath Who lay down an' dieth ! Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Wadoo, zim bam boddle-oo Hoodle ah da wa da Scatty wah ! Oh yeah !...
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale Fo' he made his home in Dat fish's abdomen Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Li'l Moses was found in a stream Li'l Moses was found in a stream He floated on water Till Ol' Pharaoh's daughter She fished him, she said, from dat stream
Wadoo zim bam boddle-oo Hoodle ah da wa da Scatty wah ! Oh yeah !..
Well, it ain't necessarily so Well, it ain't necessarily so Dey tells all you chillun De debble's a villun But it ain't necessarily so !
To get into Hebben Don' snap for a sebben ! Live clean ! Don' have no fault ! Oh, I takes dat gospel Whenever it's pos'ble But wid a big grain of salt
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years Methus'lah lived nine hundred years But who calls dat livin' When no gal will give in To no man what's nine hundred years ?
I'm preachin' dis sermon to show It ain't nece-ain't nece Ain't nece-ain't nece Ain't necessarily ... so !.
~ George Gershwin - Porgy and Bess (1935) libretto by Dubose Heyward and ira Gershwin
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you're thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."
ReplyDelete~ G. B. Shaw (1856-1950)
"For some people this evasion of one's own growth, setting low levels of aspiration, the fear of doing what one is capable of doing, voluntary self-crippling... are in fact defenses against grandiosity, arrogance, sinful pride, hubris. There are people who cannot manage that graceful integration between the humility and the pride which is absolutely necessary for creative work. To invent and create you must have the "arrogance of creativeness" which so many investigators have noticed. But of course, if you only have the arrogance without the humility, then you are in fact [delusional]. You must be aware of the godlike possibilities within, but also of the existential limitations... If you can be amused by the worm trying to be god, then in fact you may be able to go on trying and being arrogant without fearing [delusions of grandeur]... This is a good technique." - Abraham Maslow. "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature"
ReplyDeleteJonah reminds me of the worm trying to be god.
ReplyDeleteMaslow's words –– like most self-anointed sages of his singular tribe –– positively REEK of arrogance and condescension.
ReplyDeleteThat said commin sense tells those of us who
are aware that the fear of success has always been a present factor in the consciousness of many-if-not-most. It has certainy been true of me, who was said at one time to have had "great potential."
Why should this be so?
I believe it has much to do with the FEAR of accepting the RESPONSIBILITY that goes with bearing the burden of having special talents and keen intelligence.
After all, the briefest, must cursory glance at history shows that as a rule our benighted species has treated its geniuses very poorly.
In any event better a Jonah than a Judas –– or a Jeremiah for that matter.
ReplyDeleteIt ain't necessarily so
ReplyDeleteIt ain't necessarily so
The t'ings dat yo' li'ble
To read in de Bible
It ain't necessarily so
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
He fought Big Goliath
Who lay down an' dieth !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Wadoo, zim bam boddle-oo
Hoodle ah da wa da
Scatty wah !
Oh yeah !...
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Fo' he made his home in
Dat fish's abdomen
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Li'l Moses was found in a stream
Li'l Moses was found in a stream
He floated on water
Till Ol' Pharaoh's daughter
She fished him, she said, from dat stream
Wadoo zim bam boddle-oo
Hoodle ah da wa da
Scatty wah !
Oh yeah !..
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Dey tells all you chillun
De debble's a villun
But it ain't necessarily so !
To get into Hebben
Don' snap for a sebben !
Live clean ! Don' have no fault !
Oh, I takes dat gospel
Whenever it's pos'ble
But wid a big grain of salt
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years
But who calls dat livin'
When no gal will give in
To no man what's nine hundred years ?
I'm preachin' dis sermon to show
It ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't necessarily ... so !.
~ George Gershwin - Porgy and Bess (1935)
libretto by Dubose Heyward and ira Gershwin