Pain, pleasure, sadness, joy, fear, courage, hope, disappointment.
What do these things have in common? Two things: (1) they are feelings, and (2) people allow themselves to feel them.
"People who parade their hearts proudly on their shoulders are fools" (adapted from Severus Snape's statement in Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix) .
Indeed, they are. I should know - I used to be one of them. From this statement of mine, there will surely be protests from the same people I have mentioned so callously just now. But before these people should further act as such, let me try to salvage the stubborn mules from the deepest pits of ignorance from whence they came by means of defending the claims I have made above.
The word "fool" should not be taken as a degradatory term, for it is an opportunity for the person who is labelled as such to make amends for their shortcomings, to try to prove to themselves that they are not so, and to be strong. Basically, only people who admit to themselves that they are indeed fools can learn. If one thinks that they are already well-versed in a particular subject matter, that they have already filled their egotistically-swollen heads to the limits of their capacity, how can they learn? This is from an old Zen philosophy which was demonstrated by the master to his disciple. The master, after handing a cup to his disciple, started filling it with water and continued doing so until it eventually overflowed. The disciple then said: "Master, please stop, the cup is full." The master replied: "How can I teach you if you are already so full of knowledge?"
Carrying one's heart one their shoulders is not a bad thing. If you are fond of doing things in excess, that is. Indeed, one should have a heart, but one should know when to use it and where to place it, not perched so precariously on one's shoulders, where you will be vulnerable. Parading it around is most foolhardy - I learned that the hard way.
How about the "feelings"? Well, people have been advised since time immemorial to control their feelings. Yet simply knowing this "fact" (let us call it that for the time being) doesn't necessarily mean that the knower would be able to penetrate the "truth" behind it (hats off to Cratylus, George Berkeley and Confucius). One has to really experience it in order to know it. The unruly beast that we call the heart should be tamed, it should be taught when to feel things. Exempli gratia (or for the sake of giving examples):
Pain - one would not feel it if they do not allow themselves to do so. Yet, what they say about not knowing how to feel pleasure without feeling pain is also true: one would not be able to appreciate pleasure without pain, and vice versa. Indeed, this principle comes from none other than Eleanor Roosevelt, who stated that "no one will make you fear inferior without your consent".
The same goes for fear and courage, and sadness and joy.
One more example worth listing down: hope and disappointment. If one does not expect or hope for anything, one will never be disappointed by anything.
By the examples I have given above, I have demonstrated one of the reasons why apathetic people are as such. They are logical people, who use only their minds. Right now, I find this path most appealing, and plan to be one of them. Yet, I also know deep down that this chapter of my life, when I choose to be indifferent and apathetic, will come to pass one day. That will be the day when I finally learn the bitter lesson of going into that "excess" (of being completely indifferent).
Do we really have to go into both extremes in order to learn to take something in moderation?
An interesting question. But one which will have to wait.
(to be continued)
