--- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltabl...@...> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "lurkernomore20002000" <steve.sundur@> > wrote: > > I was touched by this [lurkernomore's post] and by Judy's > sincere post. This is real live shit.
For the record, so was I. I don't feel that I am qualified to offer any specific advice, so instead I'll write about one of my favorite words, and why I think it might be applicable to the situation that many, if not *most* of us find ourselves in right now. That word is "humiliation." Most people, these days, think of it in terms of its more modern meaning, "to be reduced to a lower position others' eyes." But that's not its original meaning. The etymology of the word is from the Latin humiliatus, past participle of humiliare, from Latin word humilis, meaning "low." "Humiliation" dates from 1534, when it was used by Christian monks (whose religious language was Latin) to refer to a process of "becoming humble," of being "reduced to a lower position in one's OWN eyes," not those of others. They saw this as a Good Thing, and so do I. We find ourselves in "interesting times." With *very* few exceptions on this forum, most of us are "workin' folks." And like most workin' folks on this planet, most of us are two paychecks away from living on the street. Most of us *ignore* this reality most of the time. It's not a comfortable thing to live with at the forefront of one's brain. But during times like these, it edges closer and closer TO the forefront of our brains, and reminds us of our *real* importance in life. And we're not alone. The wizards of Wall Street who used to refer to themselves as the "Lords of the Universe" now are starting to wonder whether *they* will have jobs a year from now. Those of us "down in the trenches" are starting to wonder whether we will have jobs next week. And I'm one of them. I have been working for a wonder- ful French company for the last five years, and hoped to work for them until I retired. But that company was recently bought by IBM, and IBM has so far said not a fuckin' word about whether contractors will be "kept on" or not. So this whole recession thang affects me, too. At any moment I could be out of a job. Fortunately, because I live frugally and have no debt, I'm a couple of years away from living on the street, not a couple of months, but basically I am in the same position as an auto worker who fears being laid off or anyone else who fears that their source of income will "dry up." And does this worry me, does it sometimes erode my self confidence and get me down? Betcher booties, as someone here likes to say. :-) At the same time, when this happens I try to remember the Latin origin of the word "humiliation" and remind myself that this is all a Good Thing, something that is reminding me of my *real* importance, or lack thereof. I'm ORDINARY. The "Laws Of Nature" do NOT necessarily "support" me. God is NOT necessarily "on my side." The "system" is NOT necessarily going to "take care of me." If the shit hits the fan, I'm going to be as covered with shit as everyone else. And that helps to remind me to be a little more humble. But it *also* serves to remind me that I AM NOT ALONE. People who consider themselves the "Lords of the Uni- verse" or having the "support of Nature" often tend to be egoistic loners. They don't really NEED other people, because things are going so well for them *without* other people. It's often only when the shit hits the fan that we realize that other people -- our friends and fellow seekers -- are a far more important resource than that paycheck. If we avoid the psychic depression that accompanies an economic depression, most of us can remember our strengths, and find some new way to put those strengths to use, and "with a little help from our friends," not only "get by," but do so with some grace. One of the reasons I have enjoyed this thread is that it "bucks the trend" of the TMO, and of many spiritual and social structures. So *MUCH* of the TMO mindset was about not *admitting* that we got depressed from time to time, or that our job security was precarious. In a way, it was like that old L.A. joke. Guy says to another guy, "What do you do for a living?" He says, "I'm an actor." First guy says, "Oh...what restaurant?" That joke is a joke because it reflects the sad reality of being an actor -- most of them are out of work most of the time, but none of them are ever *allowed* to admit that they're not working as actors right now. Similarly, in the TMO people were generally not *allowed* to admit that they were less than the perfect members of the perfect society, all of which was work- ing quite perfectly, thank you. I think it's a "step forward" that we can both *admit* that sometimes not everything works perfectly, and step forward to help our friends and fellow seekers when that happens. There is *humility* in both sides of this equation, and not an ounce of "humiliation" in its degraded modern meaning.
