It is interesting how the words disenchantment and disillusionment so frequently describe a disappointing, unpleasant and unwanted experience. It speaks of our desire to be held in enchantment and illusion. These point towards the pleasure of being deceived and the pain of “facing the truth†and “harsh reality.â€
The experiences of disillusionment and disenchantment are never a relief. To the Other who would offer to disillusion us, we would react with reserve if not outright horror. Our illusions are inordinately precious to us. Why?
Why do we pair enchantment with pleasure and disenchantment with pain?
Because they allow us to continue living as usual, oblivious of the obvious absurdities of perpetuating the usual. Without these illusions we would have to recognize ourselves for what we are. This is not a shock that we welcome and only a few have the need to experience self knowledge and the courage to face it.
Buddha claimed that life was suffering and we must recognize it as such. To really experience life and the inner growth that results from reality, one must suffer and who wants to when there is the pleasant alternative of a cool six pack and the latest DVD that postpones it till tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow?
Disenchantment or its’ opposite simply denotes a state of interest. Disillusionment is all together different. It is a statement that speaks of betrayal. It says that what I thought was true, isn’t. It says that I now see falsity where I thought there was truth. What do you mean there’s no Santa Claus? It is the realization that we have fooled ourselves, or worse yet, have been fooled by another person. Either way, it is painful to catch ourselves looking foolish.
I don’t mind being less than bright, I just hate getting caught, Even worse when I catch myself.
Interesting points.
when i think of the pain of disillusionment, i think of the pain i feel in recognizing how long i’d been fooled. like when you find out your partner cheated on you. its not that you want the illusion, its that feeling of “oh shit, look how wrong i was”.
personally, i don’t like being fooled. i aim towards truth. but it doesn’t mean that i don’t feel…whats the right word…shame/ignorant/a sting to my pride…when i realize how long i operated behind that veil of ignorance.
Illusions, the comfort-blankets we never grow out of.
It’s like cult-mentality on a global scale, people have so much of themselves invested in maintaining their illusions, they cannot stand the thought of them being false, and will carry on believing whatever contradictory evidence is brought before their perceptions. They literally would cease to exist without them.
Well, not literally exactly, I may have got carried away a bit there…
I think enchantment is relative. When I was unemployed for a long time, working sporadic crappy jobs and then I finally landed a full time position with health insurance- I was enchanted. I idealized the job pathetically- it could have literally been any job, as long as they would hire me.
This analogy works in all areas of life… when the simplest need is not being met you start to imagine what you wish you had and in there lies the seed of the illusions you will later project onto whatever it is that occurs in your life, bearing enough resemblance to the thing you have been dreaming about. Some people are more prone to dreaming in this manner than others; I think these are the people who have trouble with exercising patience in the seeking of their desires and harbor a lot of unrealistic expectations.
Dreaming is wonderful, but there has to be a careful separation between the dream and the reality.
I remember in high school an english teacher asked us to write a paper about disalussionment, a moment when your world turned upside down, like when you lost a loved one, and learned for the first time that people you care about can leave you, or losing a pet. That sort of thing. Anyways, I just could not do the paper… And I told him, I really have never been disallusioned in my life, or at least dont ever remember disallusionment. Im not trying to brag or anything, but honestly, even when I was young it was apparent to me that there was just alot I didnt understand. And as I grew older, even the things that seemed concrete I doubted. I was always a skeptic, and so I could honestly never be disallusioned. I remember moments like when a good friend turned out not to be such a good friend at all, but those moments were not disallusionment. It was an unpleasent scenario thats for sure, but I was well aware that things are not always as they seem, and things can change in an instant. Basicly, I just dont have any illusions, I am open to all possibilities. If tomorow the laws of the universe changed completely and were something else alltogether, I would not be disallusioned. I would marvel at the improbability of the event, but like I said, I have never placed my full trust in anything, and I doubt I ever will. And I think I am rational in doing so. Seems to me that skepticism can be very healthy, especially when compared with the alternative. A little more doubt would do our world some good I think.
I love my illusions as much as anyone else… Check my sig…
I think having illusions is like being in love. (With a nebulous entity that will never leave you). To root them out - you must first identify them (or have them forcibly identified by an external event/person), then abandon them, accepting the inevitable heartache such loss will cause.
Losing a long held illusion must be like losing a part of your soul.
I expect that for many people their illusions define them to such an extent that to lose them would bring about a dissolution of their personalities.
Or, more pesimisticly - perhaps having/maintaining an illusion is about as creative as some people ever get.
I notice this too as true in myself, it is possible, in your rational mind, to dissillusion yourself/disbelieve - for example I have to agree with nihilism as I can’t prove it isn’t true. But subconsciously - to still maintain the same illusion - I still deeply irrationally believe life has meaning… People - sheesh - can’t even agree with themselves - let alone others. We’re doomed.
It’s the mind at work again. It think’s it’s in control and when it realises that it is not the master of our destiny, it causes us to feel pain which is as illusory as the happiness it seeks.
