Tar Pits and Sirens

" The pure in heart will avoid the struggles, detour the tar pits, blind their eyes to the sirens. The problem is that in avoiding the paths that contain the tar, you may never reach any destination; in avoiding temptation, you may remain pure, but irrelevant. Life is tar pits and sirens."

-- Donald A. Norman


I love the sirens! I'm not quite as big on the tar pits. I know that they're an unavoidable part of the path, but most of the time I'd rather just ignore them.

You see, purity has just never been my middle name. No one has ever said, "David's a nice guy, but he's just too damn pure!" Avoidance, however, is definitely one of my cardinal weaknesses. I'd rather spend six days, six months, hell, six years even, dancing around a sticky situation than jump right into the tar.

My favorite phrase in Norman's quotation, though, has got to be "you may remain pure but irrelevant." Unfortunately irrelevant purity is what many religions preach. And from my vantage point, at least, the idea of purity, and the many of laws, rules, commandments and such laid down by religions to support it, are merely mechanisms used to control their followers.

Originally spiritual disciplines were developed to assist seekers in their journey to enlightenment. But how many televangelists, mega church pastors, and pedophile priests do you really think give a rat's ass about enlightenment? They're obviously more interested in raising money, building bigger congregations, and queering choir boys than they are in the spiritual development of themselves or their flock.

OK, OK, I'm in danger of getting off on a way out in left field rant here. The point is, forget so-called purity if makes you irrelevant. How can a "pure" nun or priest counsel a married couple on their relationship, talk to teenagers about sex, or even understand the economic pressures felt by the majority of their parishioners? They haven't been there, they haven't done that, they are purely irrelevant.

But let's get back to us. Me and you. I need to work on that whole avoidance mechanism I've got going. I may never love the tar pits as much as I do the sirens, but every path has them, and I need to wade through my share.

What about you? Do you either ignore the sirens or bypass the tar pits? Honestly. Now's a perfect time to try a tentative foray into the uncharted territory of temptation, or trouble, that you've been avoiding. So, just for today, listen to the sirens call, and step out a bit from your normal, straight-laced behavior. Or, dive head first into the tar, and deal with a situation that you've been avoiding. At day's end, you may find yourself a step farther along your path or a tad less irrelevant. Bon voyage!

No comments: