Post by Admin on Mar 2, 2022 4:55:39 GMT
Chapter 19 - Hope despite betrayal
Job laments that all people have turned against him in his time of need.
His only remaining hope is in a redeemer who will redeem him at the last day.
*Betrayal*
Job suffers from supposed friends emotionally betraying him in his time of suffering - instead of empathizing with him, they condemn him. For me, in complaining about my physical condition of spinal pain and disability to those most close to me, some have been quite obtuse in completely failing to understand the severity of my situation. Some have thought I was imagining things and was merely suffering from hypochondria. Even my doctors have been completely useless, also failing to understand the severity and unable to help me find solutions. There is a certain element of adding insult to injury when those that are supposed to be on your side fail to support you.
*Hope*
In trying to survive my suffering, I posted a variety of metaphysical principles around my apartment. One of the principles was "I will be healed". This was a vague principle that gave me hope, similar to Job, that I would be redeemed at the last day. There are many ways to interpret this principle. Perhaps death will be my healing - in that my suffering won't be forever. Perhaps a resurrection will be my healing. Perhaps a miracle will occur to heal me during my lifetime. Perhaps new technology will be invented to heal me. By keeping this principle on my wall and meditating on it often, I have been able to maintain hope. Sometimes faith or hope is the psychological solution to existential crisis. In abandoning religion, it can be tempting to throw the baby out with the bath water and give up on ideas like faith and hope. But the Nietzschean call to create your own values requires us to rationally reevaluate the benefits of ideas like faith and hope. For me, hope provides an incentive to endure - hope is the cheese at the end of the maze that keeps you going. If the goal is to keep going, then perhaps inventing some imaginary cheese can be helpful.
NEXT: Chapter 20 - Pride
Job laments that all people have turned against him in his time of need.
His only remaining hope is in a redeemer who will redeem him at the last day.
*Betrayal*
Job suffers from supposed friends emotionally betraying him in his time of suffering - instead of empathizing with him, they condemn him. For me, in complaining about my physical condition of spinal pain and disability to those most close to me, some have been quite obtuse in completely failing to understand the severity of my situation. Some have thought I was imagining things and was merely suffering from hypochondria. Even my doctors have been completely useless, also failing to understand the severity and unable to help me find solutions. There is a certain element of adding insult to injury when those that are supposed to be on your side fail to support you.
*Hope*
In trying to survive my suffering, I posted a variety of metaphysical principles around my apartment. One of the principles was "I will be healed". This was a vague principle that gave me hope, similar to Job, that I would be redeemed at the last day. There are many ways to interpret this principle. Perhaps death will be my healing - in that my suffering won't be forever. Perhaps a resurrection will be my healing. Perhaps a miracle will occur to heal me during my lifetime. Perhaps new technology will be invented to heal me. By keeping this principle on my wall and meditating on it often, I have been able to maintain hope. Sometimes faith or hope is the psychological solution to existential crisis. In abandoning religion, it can be tempting to throw the baby out with the bath water and give up on ideas like faith and hope. But the Nietzschean call to create your own values requires us to rationally reevaluate the benefits of ideas like faith and hope. For me, hope provides an incentive to endure - hope is the cheese at the end of the maze that keeps you going. If the goal is to keep going, then perhaps inventing some imaginary cheese can be helpful.
NEXT: Chapter 20 - Pride
