Sorry for being a bit absentee… I’ve had a lot on my mind this week (obviously) and have had quite a busy time, but I wanted to update my patient’s progress. Today we reviewed his last session and his feelings about his wife. I asked if he felt guilty about her death and what he could have done differently. He said he was a simpleton who never realized what evils lay in wait just outside his door. He failed his wife and family, but he would not fail again.

I asked how he thought he could impact society for the better. Was raising awareness through protesting really the best he could do? Or could he have a bigger impact another way, through reform movements or volunteering with relief organizations? He seemed interested in the possibility. But then he asked me a question that revealed his continuing struggle – why should men be forced to “integrate” into society in order to cleanse it of its sins? Was there no way to make a change except to placate the wealthy and powerful? Could the truth have no voice of its own?

Despite his reservations, I think I convinced him that working outside the bounds of normal society (and its laws) was not the best way to achieve peace for his fellow men (whom he seems to care so much about). Doesn’t it make the world a little better when each of us performs his or her own job well every day? Couldn’t he simply learn to do a difficult job well and aid those around him in the process? Violent upheaval may achieve social rebirth, but only at the cost of enormous suffering of the innocent. Was that what he really wanted? He didn’t seem prepared to answer.