Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Melancholy, Madness, and Morning Coffee

For years now I've made it a habit to get out of bed before everyone else does in my house. I sit alone with a book, pencil, notebook and coffee. This morning I found myself sitting at the kitchen table with a black cup of coffee reading this passage out of A Blue Fire.

"We find the senex in our solitary taking account, sorting through, figuring out; alone behind the wheel on the way to work; head under the shower, under the dryer; alone at the kitchen table looking down into black coffee, in bed staring into night--the senex mind tying together the unraveled fringes of the day, making order.

"Here is our melancholy trying to make knowledge, trying to see through. But the truth is that the melancholy is the knowledge: the poison is the antidote. This would be the senex's most destructive insight: our senex order rests on senex madness. Our order is itself madness."[James Hillman, pg. 215, A Blue fire]

I sit here frozen and distant with my cup of coffee...

2 comments:

Dancin' Clown said...

One of the reasons that I had to sneak back onto Facebook this week to find your blog address. I've missed your references and musings.

Great example, having morning coffee with reflection. Now after we've competed our move, as we trim the fat of accumulation and organize, I'll incorporate this A.M. ritual.

Just an FYI, here is a post that I did on 'My' melancholy.
Swingdancer Ken
http://clowningsoul.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-melancholy-that-often-characterizes.html#links

Curt said...

Thank you for your kind words, Ken. They made my day. I look forward to reading your post.

Curt