Email: The examined life [SD]

It is normal and healthy to react to pain by trying to get away from it. Our physical, emotional and social spheres are all interconnected. It is not a nuisance -- only a fact of life -- that a pressure cooker will explode if left untended. The problem is not that we have feelings, or that we get confused -- but that we must address these things. The unexamined life is an empty one. Feeling and thinking things through -- processing them -- is the only way to live a life that is a response to challenge instead of a reaction to crisis. We may wish to avoid inconvenience, discomfort or pain ("get it over quickly") but any good parent knows that specific steps are required to break a fever and augur recovery from an illness.