Born to Rest in Truth

faithful stewards

Chelsea - beach cross

Is your washing machine running? Maybe you’ve had the experience I’ve had. Wet clothes, especially towels, get unevenly distributed in the tub, causing it to spin madly and make frightening noises. Sometimes it sounds like the beating of a large bass drum, a beating that escalates in frequency and intensity. Some washing machine models automatically shut off when such imbalance occurs. Or you might solve the problem by opening the lid and rebalancing the load. Or, if you are fortunate, the load reorganizes itself. All of a sudden there is an unexpected return to the blissful hum as the spin cycle once again functions normally.

The mathematics of this process might illustrate the characteristics of what mathematicians and physicists call a nonlinear dynamic system. The signature of such a system is positive and negative feedback loops, oscillation, chaos, instability, and possibly a return to homeostasis, that blissful rest. Theorists from many academic disciplines see nonlinear dynamics as good working models of systems as diverse as stock markets, arms races, cultural collapse, interpersonal conflicts, and even the conflicts inside of us. And let’s be honest, the conflicts in our hearts are the building blocks for interpersonal conflicts, cultural destruction, and out-of-control financial markets.

The Structure of Action

How might our internal thought processes and conflicts embody these crazy dynamics? It is convenient and fairly common to think about how we approach daily life inside a three pronged structure of desires, beliefs, and intentional actions. All three components are either consciously or unconsciously part of everything we do. Most importantly, St. Thomas Aquinas held that these are central elements in moral judgment.

Desire. All humans agree on the dynamics of desire. St. Thomas Aquinas affirmed that every human desire, every emotional tendency, is directed toward an object we conceive as “the good.” It is impossible for a human being to strive for what he or she conceives is bad. We might say it goes totally against our instincts to do so. People can appear to will what is bad. But they can only do so by misconceiving the bad thing as something good. True, this might require the person to squint his or her eyes and contort the image to make it appear good.

Beliefs. If our beliefs do not conform to how the world really is, and who we really are, our desires fuel acts that affect other people around us and lead us in the wrong direction. It is a poisonous formula because the very thing we think is helping us draw near to our goal is the thing that makes our situation worse. Our instincts tell us we are doing something soothing or smart when in fact we have abandoned ourselves in the worst possible way.

Intentional Action. Our biological nature impels us to tend toward the good once our intellect presents us with an understanding of a situation as good. This is the nature of human will. We make pretty good decisions and we act well when the facts are clear, when the good option is salient and we have learned to easily discern it as good. We have to practice this art of perceiving the facts, and seeing the good clearly in our particular circumstances. If we do, the body is an amazing thing, and it knows exactly what to do.

The short formula is that a desire-belief system leads to action: We want to go to see Les Miserables, and we believe it is playing at the Orpheum, so we pack up and go to the Orpheum. Most action is this easy. Sometimes our intentional structures get out of balance like the washing machine. We desire to lose weight, and we believe that starvation is the most efficient method, so we do great harm to our bodies by starving. Our “solution” in fact creates an even worse problem. An impulsive decision to starve — we all know this – triggers eating with a vengeance, and suddenly we find ourselves in a battle. We embody the chaotic dynamic of the washing machine. It is frightening, it escalates in intensity, and we don’t know how to fix it.

The Psychology of Change

Each of us acquires a reliable store of habits to get us through the day. These are general strategies and practical tricks we learn to make things hum smoothly. But as we grow older and mature, often times the old habits of thought won’t do. We have to regroup; we have to rebalance. We have to come to a clearer understanding of the truth of our situation. This is what Catholics call the virtue of prudence. It is knowing enough about a situation so that we can make informed decisions and do the truly good thing.

Psychologist Jean Piaget offers a powerful framework for how our human capacities grow and mature. His framework is rooted deeply in classical philosophy in the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas.

When something unexpected occurs in our lives there is a good chance that we lack the cognitive skills to absorb it. The expression “I can’t wrap my head around that” is an apt one. Something impels us and jerks our attention away from our familiar focal point. Having a baby, getting a terminal disease, suffering the loss of a loved one, ending a significant relationship, and so on, are common occasions.

These novel events trigger a sequence of neural activations, brain states that re-enact and re-instate the habitual responses we have learned over time, from infancy to adulthood. Some neuroscientists model these brain states mathematically, and identify them as “attractors.” A range of past tendencies opens up to us, even when we don’t feel it happening. We might take a small step along a familiar pathway, like raising our voice or withdrawing. Here is where we are called to do more. How does the world react when we try an old pattern in a new situation? We listen. When we raised our voice, was that face the face of a child who is hurt to the core, or one who has been rightly caught and ready to turn himself in and be reprimanded? Is your response creating results that measure up to who you are and who you want to be? Or do you have to acquire a new repertoire for this particular child?

Prudence is listening. Then listening more. Then acting.

At many points in our lives we consciously reflect that our station right now calls for a better response. New wine calls for new wineskins. Conscious, intentional effort is needed to discern a new and better action. What is “the one thing needed” right here and now? Is there a new pattern?

We ask for advice. We investigate the situation and learn all we can about it. We pray. These are the disciplines of prudence. How the new pattern arrives is a wholly different matter. How do we find something new when we don’t know what it is we’re looking for? I will save this topic for another essay.

For now, remember that insights into situations require re-centering our goals, our desires, and our attention. We arrive at the truth by degrees, and only by facing new and difficult situations. Also, it is never a matter of throwing out the old view wholesale. We need those old patterns at times. Don’t think of change like that. Think of coming to the truth as increasing the strength of your grip on things, being able to see nuance you didn’t see before. Virtue literally means strength. When you advance in prudence, in practical knowledge, you ascend to a greater and greater freedom because you are resting more fully in the truth.

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1 thought on “Born to Rest in Truth”

  1. Pingback: WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON EDITION - BigPulpit.com

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