Aeschylus, Jung, and Malraux

"He who learns must suffer.  And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, and against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God."  Aeschylus.

I wonder if the Aeschylus family still has copyright protection?  Maybe they'll sue me for using this quote.  

First of all, I'm not reading any Aeschylus at the moment.  Fifth Century BC Greek tragedians are not at the top of my reading list.  I should post this quote on my FB account so I come across as even more of a pompous asshole than I already am.  I'm reading a book by a dude who is a lot more learned than me and HE read Aeschylus, saving me the trudge.  The point is if you are still interested in the point is that this idea that "pain is the touchstone of all spiritual progress" has been around for a long time.  We learn most efficiently through our struggles.

"Meaninglessness inhibit fullness of life and is therefore equivalent to illness.  Meaning makes a great many things endurable - perhaps everything."  Jung.

I am also not reading anything by Jung and he is nowhere to be found on my reading list.  I'm open-minded but I'm not an idiot.

The point here is that by seeking a tighter relationship with our Higher Power and striving to be of service to other people our lives take on greater meaning.

"The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random between the profusion of the earth and the galaxy of the stars, but that in this prison we can fashion images of ourselves sufficiently powerful to deny our nothingness."  Andre Malraux

Again, Andre Malraux not on my reading list primarily because I've never fucking heard of him, but this book does sound good.

The point here - and I'm stretching to make this relevant to my recovery - is that when I feel lost and abandoned and confused by life I can grasp hold of the idea that I'm not alone, that life is a big, weird roller coaster ride that requires me to apply myself so I don't get sucked into a whirlpool of nothingness.

Goddam, that was pompous.