| If you marry, you will regret it; if you do not marry, | | | | should be protected against those that would misuse |
| you will also regret it; if you marry or do not marry, you | | | | our love, but we must always be cognizant of the |
| will regret both; whether you marry or do not marry, | | | | shields and devices we use. |
| you will regret both. | | | | 2) When the time is right, we must be willing to emerge |
| -- Soren Kierkegaard. | | | | from our womb and embrace another human being. |
| Soren Kierkegaard was a tremendous fan of Don | | | | The time is right when you think your love will help that |
| Giovanni (aka Don Juan). Kierkegaard pined in regret | | | | person and that their love is reasonably unlikely to hurt |
| over his broken engagement with Regine Olsen. He | | | | you. |
| feared that once she saw the rottenness and evil | | | | 3) We must help others who are locked in a womb to |
| within him, that she would no longer be able to love him. | | | | recognize what they are doing and help them emerge. |
| Many of his earlier works were works dealing with | | | | 4) Our primary mission must be to constantly prepare |
| faith and coming to grips with his decision not to marry | | | | ourselves to give and receive love. |
| her. Such a person would be interested in the | | | | 5) We must realize that every time we emerge from |
| character of Don Giovanni who slept with thousands | | | | the womb we take a huge risk, but it’s essential |
| of women in fear that no one woman would ever love | | | | that risk in order to answer the most fundamental |
| him. Both Kierkegaard and Don Giovanni had a | | | | philosophical question: What is this all about? |
| fundamental lack of faith: Not a lack of faith in God, but | | | | What is this all about? It is said that the Jews lost the |
| a lack of faith in humanity. We’ll soon see that | | | | first temple because of their inability to understand and |
| the two are related however. | | | | relate with God. God, however, understood that |
| What is the fundamental value of faith to begin with? | | | | He’s very esoteric and difficult to comprehend |
| Faith allows the human mind to make decisions in the | | | | and gave the Jews a second chance. The Jews lost |
| absence of perfect information and absolute certainty. | | | | the second temple when they started in fighting and |
| Faith in its purest form is essential to daily living. How | | | | weren’t able to relate to one another. This was |
| could we board a plane, drive to work or go about our | | | | inexcusable and led to the current exile and Diaspora. |
| daily business without a certain faith that the odds are | | | | The Song of Songs describes the relationship |
| in our favour that everything is going to be alright? | | | | between God and humanity much like that of the |
| I’m certain that were Don Giovanni alive today, | | | | relationship between two lovers. If we connect the |
| he’d happily board a plane to fly to his love of | | | | two ideas we can gather that the loss of the second |
| the week. He would have faith in the plane ride, which | | | | temple, leading to the current exile was and is much |
| could theoretically cost him his life, but he | | | | like a lovers’ quarrel. God was and is extremely |
| wouldn’t have the faith in the woman to truly | | | | frustrated with us and threw up his arms and is not |
| love her, even when there is no mortal danger. This | | | | giving us the silent treatment’. He’s |
| irony speaks wondrously of the innate human ability to | | | | giving us space, or forcing us to take space, for us to |
| recognize that the soul is the most precious thing of all. | | | | come to terms with ourselves much like when |
| Don Giovanni was a duelist who commonly took risks | | | | sometimes, lovers spend time apart to allow one or |
| with his life but never risked to expose his soul. | | | | the other to come to terms with certain things. My |
| What then is so pernicious about opening yourself | | | | guess is that God is extremely frustrated and has lost |
| romantically to another human being? Why | | | | his faith in us to be his partner in love and discovery. |
| can’t we just open ourselves romantically to | | | | I imagine that He’s desperately hoping that we |
| one eligible person after the other until something | | | | are able to come closer to each other and spread |
| works? While it sounds easy on paper, to be loved by | | | | love and understanding across this planet. Each human |
| someone is a validation of character. While it’s | | | | has a piece of God as we were made in his image. |
| not the only validation of character, it’s certainly | | | | (Baruch Spinoza may have been excommunicated for |
| a potent one. Thus to be unrequited in love is looked | | | | this notion, but that excommunication was |
| upon as an invalidation of character to those unsure of | | | | posthumously recanted.) Thus, the more people we |
| their worth, and for those sure of their worth, | | | | love and the more we explore our love with one |
| it’s a reminder that they are alone in recognizing | | | | special person, the more pieces of God we come to |
| their value. This is a very painful proposition and it is no | | | | terms with. One could suppose that God was |
| wonder that, like a baby crying upon birth, so very | | | | extremely frustrated with us, but understood that his |
| many of us wish to return to the womb. | | | | love was too intense for us to bear. Thus, he sought |
| The womb is the solitary human mind. Things make | | | | to set upon us a task which would allow us to come |
| sense in there and even when things are a mess, | | | | towards him in steps. The more we love, the move |
| it’s out own mess. Everything is nicely | | | | we are love and the more we increase love, the more |
| encapsulated there, and it is comfortable, warm and | | | | we approach the notion of God. If we spread love |
| friendly inside. The lengths human beings will go to in | | | | across this planet, God and humanity will be able to |
| order to return and stay in the womb are enormous. | | | | leave our respective wombs and take a leap of faith |
| Fancy cars and fancy clothes are a way to wrap and | | | | together into the wonders that lie beyond. |
| obscure the soul. Snobbery and ego are tools so | | | | Appendix — Kierkegaard’s Engagement |
| many use to fend off any foreign invaders. Religious | | | | Source: |
| zealotry, self-absorption, and seeking the status quo | | | | Assuming Kierkegaard’s diaries and his |
| are all opiates against any of out outside world that | | | | confessions to his friends are honest, the engagement |
| manages to slip in. The womb however is not where | | | | to Regine was the most difficult year of his life. |
| we were meant to be. It quickly leads to a planet of | | | | Kierkegaard seems to have been torn between the |
| walking encapsulated beings that are so distant, one | | | | idea of a marriage and his need for solitude. After a |
| can easily feel lonely in a crowded room. It leads to a | | | | year, Kierkegaard broke the engagement. Regine |
| situation of starving amidst a sea of plenty. | | | | attempted to appease Kierkegaard and win his heart, |
| If climbing back into the womb is not correct and loving | | | | even after his unusual treatment of her, but he |
| blindly is a sure fire recipe for heartache then, what | | | | rebuffed her advances. |
| should we do? This is the second most common | | | | Kierkegaard claimed he wanted to force Regine away |
| philosophical question. The Russian philosopher | | | | from him, so she would marry another man. It is |
| Chernichevsky wrote a huge work called Shto | | | | possible he did not think himself worthy. It is also |
| Dzelits? (What to do?’) which begins with | | | | possible he did not want to deal with the emotions |
| What to do? and cycles back on itself thus, | | | | associated with romance. Regardless, he tried to be |
| what to do? It cycles without fruition because it | | | | indifferent’ and drive Regine out of his life. In |
| attempts to answer a question that can only be | | | | later years, Kierkegaard called his destruction of the |
| answered in actions. Recall that self-absorption in | | | | relationship a self-inflicted wound that caused |
| excessive thinking is an opiate: a device of the womb | | | | him a great deal of misery. If he cared for Regine, as |
| and therefore can’t be part of the solution. | | | | many believe Kierkegaard did, his need to avoid a |
| What actions then must be taken? | | | | relationship is not easily understood by most people. |
| 1) We must itemize everything that represents the | | | | Intellectually brilliant, yet emotionally unwilling to deal with |
| womb to us. We must note down everything that we | | | | ties to others, Kierkegaard wanted to be alone and |
| use to escape from the world and others and every | | | | isolated from much of society. Nothing would tie him to |
| device we use to distance ourselves. That’s | | | | society more than marriage. |
| not to say that the womb is always a bad thing: We | | | | |