endsthegame (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2012-06-08 01:40 pm
endsthegame) wrote in fandomhigh2012-06-08 01:40 pm
Entry tags:
Practical Philosophy, Friday
The downside of a quiet week, Ender found, was that there was little in the shape of current issues to discuss. And while he held a great deal of questions close to his heart, they weren't ones he was willing to share. The thought of seeing them debated at all seemed, at best, an annoyance, at worst a painful affair.
None the less, he was still sitting down outside that morning in the sun, his trusty bag of sandwiches at his side.
"It's been quiet this week, at least for me," he said. "Maybe one of you has done something worth talking about - and if so, I'd encourage you to step forward and do so." He stretched his legs out.
"Still, it gets me thinking about peace, and the way this island deals it to us," he said. "From a certain point of view, it's always the peace before the storm: something else stupendously awful or stupid could happen to us next week, or even this weekend. The days leading up to each weekend are times to prepare ourselves. The weeks when nothing happens are times to train, to read, to make sure we're at the pinnacle of our abilities in case something breaks in and tries to kill us, or we're psychologically prepared for having the rug yanked out from below us."
He looked from one member of the class to another. "Of course, that's a restless way to live," he said. "You can't really escape it entirely on this island. But for most of us, we try not to. We go about our lives and talk about 'the weekends' and try to impart on our newest a sense of preparation for what's to come, but mostly, we just go about our business. Maybe it's a human thing, to pretend the inevitable isn't coming so we can go on with our lives. Most of us postpone thoughts of our death for when we're old or particularly despondent. Because how can you live with a shadow like that over your head? Denial, that ever-old first jewel of a stage on that list of coping mechanisms psychologists and therapists love so much."
"Of course, some of us embrace the inevitable," he said. "We see it as a motivator to make the best of ourselves until our reality ceases to be what it is, whether that be temporary or permanently. Seize the day. It's a different way of preparing, a way of saying, 'even if this happens, even if I don't make it, at least I'll have no regrets'."
He shrugged gently. "But for a lot of you, thoughts like this aren't anything new," he said. "We all figure out our ways to cope - it's human nature. I could ask you questions - about your thoughts on life after death, about the ethics of living life to its fullest, about whether or not during some of these weekend events we are even ourselves, and if that doesn't constitute death, of a sort. But I think I'll just ask this: are you looking forward to the weekend?"
None the less, he was still sitting down outside that morning in the sun, his trusty bag of sandwiches at his side.
"It's been quiet this week, at least for me," he said. "Maybe one of you has done something worth talking about - and if so, I'd encourage you to step forward and do so." He stretched his legs out.
"Still, it gets me thinking about peace, and the way this island deals it to us," he said. "From a certain point of view, it's always the peace before the storm: something else stupendously awful or stupid could happen to us next week, or even this weekend. The days leading up to each weekend are times to prepare ourselves. The weeks when nothing happens are times to train, to read, to make sure we're at the pinnacle of our abilities in case something breaks in and tries to kill us, or we're psychologically prepared for having the rug yanked out from below us."
He looked from one member of the class to another. "Of course, that's a restless way to live," he said. "You can't really escape it entirely on this island. But for most of us, we try not to. We go about our lives and talk about 'the weekends' and try to impart on our newest a sense of preparation for what's to come, but mostly, we just go about our business. Maybe it's a human thing, to pretend the inevitable isn't coming so we can go on with our lives. Most of us postpone thoughts of our death for when we're old or particularly despondent. Because how can you live with a shadow like that over your head? Denial, that ever-old first jewel of a stage on that list of coping mechanisms psychologists and therapists love so much."
"Of course, some of us embrace the inevitable," he said. "We see it as a motivator to make the best of ourselves until our reality ceases to be what it is, whether that be temporary or permanently. Seize the day. It's a different way of preparing, a way of saying, 'even if this happens, even if I don't make it, at least I'll have no regrets'."
He shrugged gently. "But for a lot of you, thoughts like this aren't anything new," he said. "We all figure out our ways to cope - it's human nature. I could ask you questions - about your thoughts on life after death, about the ethics of living life to its fullest, about whether or not during some of these weekend events we are even ourselves, and if that doesn't constitute death, of a sort. But I think I'll just ask this: are you looking forward to the weekend?"