ACTING IN 'THE TRAGIC GAP'

In last week's Midweek Musings, we had talked about the importance of being able to hold the tension between opposites, while recognizing that they can both be true. This week we elaborate on the concept further, and talk about what Parker Palmer calls the capacity to stand and act in 'The Tragic Gap'.

The Tragic Gap is the gap between the way we know things can be, and the hard reality of the way they actually are. For example, we know what generosity and kindness look like, but what we see on display more often, sadly, are their opposites. We know that we live in a world at war, but we also know that it is possible to live in peace.

If we don't understand how to stand and act in The Tragic Gap, then we can very easily flip out into corrosive cynicism on one side, or into irrelevant idealism on the other.

To flip out into the side of "too much reality" is to become cynical. We tell ourselves that the only way to survive is to harden our hearts, and look out only for ourselves, but when we do, our cynicism simply contributes to making the world a more difficult place.

On the other hand, flipping out into the other side of "too much possibility" can turn us into irrelevant idealists who simply 'fly above the battle' without ever really descending to engage with it. (And though corrosive cynicism and irrelevant idealism sound like they are poles apart, both, in fact, take us out of the action and disengage us from our place in the Gap, where we need to stand in order to move things forward.)

So how do we find the grace to stand in The Tragic Gap? Parker Palmer says the only way, really, is to reach deep within ourselves, and tap into the timeless reservoirs of strength that have sustained anyone, known or unknown, who ever made the world a better place.

We also find the strength we need by living what Socrates called "the examined life", in community with those who can safeguard us from flipping into either corrosive cynicism or irrelevant idealism.

And last but not least, by allowing the pain of the world to break our hearts open and letting the empathy flow out, instead of exploding like grenades, spewing shards of hatred and anger everywhere.

As this beautiful song from the 1965 movie, Man of La Mancha reminds us...

"To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe

To bear with unbearable sorrow

To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong

To love pure and chaste from afar

To try when your arms are too weary

To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest to follow that star

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far

To fight for the right without question or pause

To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest

That my heart will lie peaceful and calm

When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this

That one man, scorned and covered with scars

Still strove with his last ounce of courage

To reach the unreachable star."

Have a good week!

Team Anahat

Midweek Musings is the intellectual property of Anahat Organisation Development Consultancy Pvt Ltd