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    %SHADOW DISHONEST EFFORT DENIAL TRUTH DECEPTION 900814

     Many  human  efforts  occur  in  the  shadow  of   an
embarrassing truth,  and can best be understood as efforts
to hide from those embarrassing truths.  In a  paradoxical
way the efforts cast the shadow in which they occur,   for
they  seek  to  hide from the light from which  refuge  is
sought.   The efforts are efforts to find protection  from
the  light  of the truth,  and so the efforts  are  placed
between the embarrassed workers and the truth.

     When  we  put some thing between us and  the  sun  to
shade ourselves from sunlight,  we hide ourselves from the
light of the sun.

     When we put some of our efforts between us and truths
which  embarrass us,  we hide ourselves from the light  of
those  truths,   and we are in the shadow of our  efforts.
Because  we  are in the shadow of our efforts and  do  not
acknowledge the truths from which they hide us,  to us the
efforts  which  have  hidden us  from  those  embarrassing
truths are efforts which make sense.  To those who see and
acknowledge  the truths as being essential to wisdom,  our
efforts make no sense.  They see our efforts as efforts to
deny essential truths.

     Picture  someone  trying  with a broom to  sweep  the
Pacific  Ocean away from the shore line.  What sense could
such an effort make? A self deluded person who is narrowly
focused  upon the sand immediately at hand might gain hope
from  temporary  success in sweeping the water  away  from
some local spot,  and believe that such successes indicate
that  greater successes in pushing back the ocean with the
broom are just a matter of improved effort and  technique.
Such  continued efforts would be meaningful to the  worker
only  in  the shadow of their efforts to believe that  the
Pacific Ocean can be controlled with the broom!

     Picture someone trying with an atomizer to put out  a
raging forest fire, concentrating the atomic effort upon a
few needles which are burning at their feet---and ignoring
the  flames  which  rage a hundred  feet  overhead.   Such
efforts  would  be  meaningful to the worker only  in  the
shadow  of their efforts to believe that they can  control
the forest fire with an atomizer.

     Picture  doctors  trying  to prevent the death  of an
elderly  great-grandmother who is dying of  cancer.   Such
efforts  would be meaningful to them only in the shadow of
their  efforts  to  deny  that  some  day  they  too  will
inevitably die,  and that they cannot control their  lives
to the point of being immortal.

     Picture  a  nation  addicted to oil  and  frantically
trying  to find an endless additional supply of oil  on  a
finite  planet which has only one thousand cubic miles  of
quality organic fuel.  Such an effort is meaningful to the
nation only in the shadow of its efforts to deny that some
day the organic fuel on its planet will all have been used
up, and its technocratic frenzy will come to an end.

     Picture a civilization addicted to technical fixes of
all  kinds,   living  in the shadow  if  its  belief  that
problems with alienation, estrangement and lack of meaning
in  life  can  be  fixed---through  additional  knowledge,
techniques, technology, resources and efforts. Such living
can  make  sense only in the shadow of the  civilization's
efforts  to deny all truths regarding the nature of  human
fulfillment,   satisfaction,   community,   communication,
conversation,   conversion,  cooperation,  redemption  and
salvation.

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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