Feathers

​Feathers
 
For many who have a strong religious faith, there is often hope in a life after death.  For Christians who will soon celebrate the story of the resurrection this is a belief in a literal eternal life.  For others there is hope in the daily resurrection and/or rebirth which allows for new opportunities to be one’s best selves.  For still others there is a belief that if one is “good enough” one will have riches in this life journey.  Some religions teach all events are a result of an attempt to restore balance or explain the principles of cause and effect otherwise known as karma.
 
Emily Dickinson wrote “Hope” is the thing with feathers.  The first verse is:
 
‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers-
That perches in the soul-
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops – at all –‘
 
In my work with those living with illnesses which affect the thought process, including the illness of addiction, I have noted that many share the same or similar symptoms.  The most common of these are:
 

• Feeling disconnected from self and others – no sense of community.
• No hope/belief or loss of belief/hope in a meaningful future.
• An inability to accept or to experience an inner strength to deal with one’s emotions.
• The symptoms caused by the illness, i.e. compulsive craving for a drug, food, sex, power, money or something else outside of themselves to fill the internal void or ease the feeling of disconnection and hopelessness.

 
In addition to treating the physical medical issues including detox, a chemical imbalance or other conditions, one must treat the loss of hope.  Sometimes medications such as anti-depressants can take the edge off or reduce the symptoms. With addiction the use of certain medications will ease the discomfort which can set the stage for a change in beliefs (the thought process).  The long term goal is to assist the individuals in finding and/or trusting a sense of connectedness with others and the universe in general.   It is my experience that the loss of hope and/or connectedness with self and others are the symptoms preceding attempts to self-medicate or numb oneself with drugs, sex, power or something else outside of oneself.
 
If I am accurate, in addition to treating those whose symptoms are already acute, as a society, we must address the larger issues of what allows one to claim the feathers of hope.  Krista Tippett, host of the podcast On Being almost always asks her guests what they believe makes us human or what gives meaning to one’s human experience.  Many do not believe waiting for  eternal life following this life journey is a realistic goal.  Sadly when they gave up on religious beliefs they also lost the sense of community which many find in their church, synagogue, or temple.   A  relative few may find a sense of community in the Unitarian Universalist’s community, but even that community often presupposes some sort of religious or spiritual beliefs.
 
I am not herein proposing a one size fits all answer. I am suggesting that beginning when children are very young we must invite them to consider the question of what gives meaning to this life journey. It is not useful to teach practical skills unless one can use those skills to create a community which has a sense of purpose other than collecting things, money, power, sexual conquests just for the sake of attempting to prove one’s worth or even superiority.  If, as Peggy Lee sang, “Is this all there is?”  there are no feathers of hope there is no purpose to this life journey.  The search for meaning always, I believe, begins with the willingness to ask questions; to say what does not work or make sense to one. One of the favorite questions of young children is why?  We must take seriously the question of why?  Why learn science? Why learn English grammar?  Why learn math?  Why learn skills to build the same meaningless system? Why is more better?
 
Written March 22, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
C]\oachpickett.org