In the book A World Waiting to be Born, M. Scott Peck recounted an incident in his childhood. Still young to be a Boy Scout, he got hold of a Boy Scout catalog, and he saw a hatchet, and fortunately for him, it was available even for non-scouts. So his parents bought him one on his birthday, and upon getting it, he raced to the woods nearby and chopped down a small tree. Of course, the chopping tired him, and only then he noticed a gash in one of his legs.
So he ran towards home, blood streaming from the leg, and a doctor was called. The gash merited stitches.
His description of the healing process is instructive. Majority of us thinks inflammation is bad. It is actually the body trying to hasten the cleanup process. A wound or a stitch may swell because fresh blood is being “streamed” into the damaged area to hasten the regeneration of cells. Also, this ensures that the white blood cells can do their work faster.
When there is inflammation, it is tender to touch but painful when pressed. Pain exists so that the inflammation will be left alone, the injured part will not be moved that much.
And here is the crux of this story.
We always associate pain with the negative. The truth is, pain is necessary because it alerts us that something is wrong with our body. Pain tells us that we have a disease. And knowing that there is something wrong, we act on it – we visit a doctor, we take medication, we take a rest.
The absence of pain is not necessarily a sign of good health. Lepers don’t feel physical pain, yet they are diseased.
That’s talking about physical pain.
Defense mechanisms exist as our ego’s way of preventing anxiety, or emotional/mental/psychological pain. They are healthy, but to some extent, they are not.
One example of such defense mechanism is denial. The Wikipedia entry is instructive, so I quote:
Denial is a defense mechanism in which a person is faced with a fact that is too painful to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. The subject may deny the reality of the unpleasant fact altogether (simple denial), admit the fact but deny its seriousness (minimisation) or admit both the fact and seriousness but deny responsibility (transference).
I suggest you read the Wikipedia entry on denial.
We are in denial. We know something is wrong but we deny that it is serious. So much, in fact, that we have desensitized ourselves – we lost the capability to know what is wrong. We have been immuned to pain.
Thus, we do not know that we are diseased. Thus, we cannot act on the disease until it’s probably too late.
A lot of things are happening around us. Several days from now, we will be electing our leaders. I know some of us found it hard selecting who to vote; it is a painful experience. Some of us went through the pain, and will be better for it (hopefully). Some of us avoided the pain altogether and have decided not to vote.
Some of us are troubled by the spate of killings and sudden disappearances. Some of us made noise, made protests. Some of us chose not to think about it, because, after all, we have nothing to gain from it.
Some of us saw that something went wrong last 2004. Some protested. Some chose to “move on”.
We are diseased. Because we chose not to vote, we will have more of the same. Because we chose not to think about it, many more will die or disappear. Because we chose to “move on”, we will never move on beyond 2004.
We are diseased. And because we killed our capacity to feel pain, we cannot act on it. Or even if we do, it might probably too late.
Well written bro. It complements my latest entry. Hope springs from all of us, not to vote is a sign that we are hopeless.
so young but such great thoughts and sentiments! i wish there are more youth like you – the way to think, the way you express things.
Denial is a sign of weakness and when we are weak we are vulnerable.
Healing is best when we face reality and accept our weaknesses. and when we accept, that is the time the path to healing becomes easier, clearer.
I could only imagine how you’ll feel if you had a relative who is running for public office. Ugh. I’m trying to really remove myself from thinking about it because IT REALLY MAKES ME FEEL SICK.
“moving on” is not an option. pinagsasampal ni gloria ang pinoy noong 2004 tapos ‘move on’ na parang walsng nangyari? aba, pag-move-on ikaw, you have no business occupying space here on earth. you are just waiting to get buried.
Hi, Schumey. I am hoping that I am wrong about this elections.
Hi, Mam Soleil, I am embarassed *sheepish grin*. I just read a lot, and make loads of observations.
Hi, Benj, your experience merits a blog post. I have to understand why you feel that way. Please post about it.
Ummm… let’s just say even if you’re not corrupt, you need to have the 3 G’s. why? because your opponent does. š Arbet, not all people share your idealism. Poor people in the provinces are mostly idiots who line up in candidates’ houses for dole outs. What would candidates do? Shoo them away and shoot themselves on the foot?
It’s tough. I actually hate him [our relative who’s running] for running. So much has been spent. I mean… a lot. The figure is simply staggering. And I’m quite sure he’s going to lose because he’s an idiot and he’s facing one of the most unscrupulous politicians of our time – oh wait, I mean, the WIFE of the most unscrupulous politician of our time.
DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN
If I had the money used for the campaign:
a) I would’ve made the world a better place.
b) I would’ve been set for life.
GRRRRRRRRRRR.
in a way benj is right when he says the majority of those who are used by trapos are plain and simple salt of the earth. minimal brain power but growling stomach and their belief that the only way to survive is to queue, and be used. it doesnt matter whether they are called “bayaran”..they can eat for the time being when the trapos are having the time of their life.
Still, it is not an excuse for us who “have the brains and the power” in our little way. never mind the thought of having our votes being insignificant…one million will not be a million with the absence of one number!
Yup, soleil.
But the system is already in place. The stupid poor people are lazy fucks who line up at your doorstep first thing in the morning to squeeze out every peso that they could get from you. It’s disheartening. If only they could die all at once. *oops, backtracks and takes some Zoloft*
Anyway, its easy to be idealistic. It’s easy to grandstand. Take a look around at what’s happening in the ground – it’s even more disheartening that what’s going on at the national level.
Hi, Benj. The system is in place, but it can be replaced. If all we do is to snipe at the “stupid poor” people, the system will remain. Now, I think it is up to the “thinking” people to change the system.
We get nothing from sniping. And it is easier to be apathetic and cynical. It is easier to blame others, too.
Idealism is not that bad. It’s just that we are lazy to even do something to change the system. That is our problem.
How do you propose to change the system? All candidates flood the baranggays with copious amounts of gin every campaign period. Hopefuls let paper bills fly off like confetti everyday. And the “stupid poor” are already used to this kind of mendicancy.
Maybe it’s a better story in Manila. In the provinces, its literally like a long drawn-out courtship complete with gifts and what not.