Epiphany and Love

I love this picture that I used in my 2nd post. It really does look like an epiphany to me.

I don't believe we have used the word "Love" once this semester or at least we haven't examined it's connection to epiphanies. To my knowledge, the rest of the texts will not cause this word to surface. Something critical is missing from the syllabus so, Dr. Sexson, please fit this into the class. What we have examined thus far in epiphanies suggests that they are somehow stronger or perhaps removed from love. I think we simply have not yet connected these dots because we do not yet understand the space between them.

Love is the essence of an epiphany. In this context, both are the awareness of deeper understanding of ones own presence in the world and the connection(s) which exist within it. Both are entirely irrational, incalculable, and with effects often completely beyond our control. In reflection, they both represent equally powerful markers for events on the road maps of our lives. I don't even think these two things are parallels. They seem to me to be tied to something deeper, something more primal, within our biology.

What is (mostly) unique to humans and has allowed us to evolve to where we are? Speciesism aside, our ability to discern possibility out of experience ultimately manifests in the expression of art. (don't worry, this isn't a tangent) As our awareness allows us to examine our experiences and improve upon our reality, so too our awareness allows us to create and appreciate art which, in essence, is still rooted in our awareness. This is a very important (and convoluted) point. To the Lighthouse, Annie Dillard's essays, and the various poems we've read, they ALL represent art which in some manner attempts to describe epiphanies or relate epiphanic experiences. They make good commentary and good discussion material but where are they truly sourced? (The answer is of course "Mythology" but that's besides the point and an entirely different class, even though we've all taken that class before and we just need to remember it, and it is any class we've ever taken with Dr. Mytholo-ah-I-mean-Sexson)

At work the other week, I had a small epiphany. I take the containers off of a rack and then put them in a box. Then I do it again and again and again. And again. Arranging the boxes after filling them is tedious. It involves a great deal of carrying. Here's what I figured out. Rather than fill the boxes and move them each one at a time, I figured out a way to fill one box, place another on top, then fill that one, then place a final box on top (creating a stack) and fill it. Lifting all three boxes at once and reducing the frequency of my lifting is far easier than lifting each box individually. That's what leg muscles are for.
See the difference? It made a very significant improvement to my work day and it occurred through observational awareness. Here is my important point.

Humans are SUPPOSED to be able to do this! We make these small leaps all the time. Some animals have teeth, other animals have wings, still other animals are incredibly fast. As an animal, we are observationally aware and that is our special trait. We figure out a more nifty way to avoid traffic while driving during rush hour, a different way to carry things, and a new way to put a handle on to basically any concept for a tool. This ability to process an abstract concept and apply an improvement to our lives is our greatest strength. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE EPIPHANIES AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO PROCESS THEM TO THE BETTERMENT OF OUR LIVES!

It's possible I could have separated love and this idea behind the evolutionary source of our epiphanies into two separate posts but they seem connected to me. Here's what I see.

Love, or how it frequently occurs in our many societies as "partnership", is found all over the world in almost every form of life. There are plenty of people who disagree with this and it's a hell of a lot easier to justify most of our stupid, elitist, speciesist crap if we ignore the reality that love fills the world all around us. If you happen to be one of those wrong people who believes in this wrong speciesist crap which is wrong, then suspend your disbelief for a moment while I make this connection.

Love is a biological imperative for us exactly like observational awareness. By experiencing an intense emotional connection to a person, place, thing or idea, we are far more capable of propagating that thing (or simply propagating). We are supposed to experience love! Unfortunately, it is not always convenient. Though separate entities from a philosophical viewpoint, they are manifestations of the same thing. I don't think I can explain this so I'll simply move on to the visual argument for this.



Mr. Darcy experiences a dark epiphany ("What!? She won't marry me? She thinks I'm an A-hole?!") and Elizabeth experiences an epiphany as well ("OMG I hate this guy so much I turned down marriage and an insane amount of money which could've floated my family for the rest of their lives!!), though Elizabeth's epiphany is more of an after effect of this scene.

I think this scene, and the entire book (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin) represent love as one form of an epiphany according to our understanding of epiphanies. When love comes upon us, we experience it as we would experience any other epiphany; it can be immediate or gradual but it always leaves something about us permanently changed through the awareness we are granted. When I read this book, I see the love and the epiphanies are the same thing. Love, just as a standard epiphany (maybe that phrase is an oxymoron), is rooted in our observational awareness in the world around us. Occasionally, we make great leaps and bounds. Love, and epiphanies, do not simply appear out of the ether. We see the same effects and this convinces me they occur from the same source in our evolutionary biology.

I can feel myself descending into obfuscated and potentially (more) belligerent writing. I'll wrap it up and go watch Lost. Maybe I'll respond to this at some point during spring break.