Losing A Loved One Means Losing Yourself | Augustine’s Confessions
Grief is one of the great mysteries still facing science. Why do we grieve? What purpose does it serve? Grief has no evolutionary benefit, no survival value. From a psychological perspective, grief is a healthy response to the loss of a loved one-grief is good, despite how painful it is-but this still doesn't explain WHY grief is good. Indeed, one of the symptoms of grief itself is CONFUSION-"Why do I feel this way? Why did this happen?"-and disorientation-"I feel lost," "The world feels strange and different," "Where do I go from here?"
One of the best gifts you can give another person is an EXPLANATION, an articulation of their own experience that helps people make sense of themselves-this has been at the core of philosophy since its inception, most notably emphasized by Socrates and Plato, and was carried to its summit by one of the greatest philosophers of the platonic and Christian traditions, Saint Augustine of Hippo. In his Confessions, Augustine explored the abyss of the human self as few had done before or since, and among his most poignant investigations are those involving the loss of two individuals he loved very dearly: his mother and an unnamed friend. Augustine was a medieval master of psychology, and his investigations into grief deserve a wider scholarly treatment. But more importantly, they help us to understand ourselves-the old Delphic injunction and the famous mission of Socrates-when understanding ourselves is most important, when we feel most alone, when we lose the people we love.
Music:
Kai Engel, "Harbor"
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Chris Zabriskie, "We Were Never Meant to Live Here"
freemusicarchive.org/music/Chr...
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My grief came with this huge, self-blaming eventhough my brain acknowledges that I had been a good grandaughter to my most beloved late grandmother. I blamed myself for not spending more time with her. Not for calling her more often. Not for buying her more presents. Not for cheerishing every moment enought that I've had with her. Not for observing her illness more carefully. Not for understanding she might die. Not for guessing the time of her death so that I can be beside her bed. Then I started feeling guilty. Feeling guilty to be able to laugh with my friends. Feeling guilty for enjoyin a movie. Feeling guilty of enjoying a meal. Feeling guilty for being able to sleep. Feeling guilty for daylight. Feeling guilty for breathing and living. For my grandmother can no longer experience those things that I can. She's gone. And I'm here, continue living like she was nothing to me. It has been the hardest part of my grief. I made myself sick of crying. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't go on with my life. My mom had to snatch me out of it and made me remember that I still have people that love me and need me. And only after that came the feeling of losing a part of me, my life, especially my childhood. Grief very strange and complex. I never thought that I was capable of feeling such intense emotions.
After experiencing the grief from the death of family members at a young age (my grandparents), I was surprised to discover that heartbreak felt much the same way. I didn't expect that loving someone and breaking up would feel as though they somehow died.
Thank you 🙏🏽
@EmpireoftheMind
4 жыл бұрын
You’re welcome!
We are comforted in our grief as we hope to meet our loved ones again in near time. Now think about those who have already lost their faith and hope. I wonder how they can bear it.
Grief is perhaps the most human of all emotions because it is the product of being such conscious beings as we are. The school of thought that claims consciousness emerges merely from evolutionary processes has a hard time with this one.
Thank you
It depends on the person. Grief is pain, but it doesn’t have t