“The ideal condition would be, I admit, that men should be right by instinct; But since we are all likely to go astray, the reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach.”
– Sophocles, Greek playwright
“Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey “people.” People say different things, so do instincts. Our instincts are at war. Each, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest.”
– C. S. Lewis
Well, crap, then! What the hell do we do when we can’t decide?
Taking care to make sure we’re not confusing instinct with experience is a good first step. Most horses are born at night, for example, not because the mare has given birth before, but because nature dictated that the foal be ready to move with the herd come morning. That’s instinct.
The magic takes place when our experiences and our instincts are allowed to flow, and when we give ourselves the freedom to consider them both, in context.
Seeking out teachers is important, as Sophocles reminds us, yet they fall in to the “people” category called out by C.S. Lewis.
When faced with life’s big decisions — to take a job offer, or to leave a job; to relocate your family or to commit to “roots” (whatever those are!); to reach for the big prize or to be content with the gifts already in our grasp — some combination of instinct and experience is our best course.
In what amounts? Hard to say. In what order? Even harder to say. Prayer works for some (and it’s my preferred arbiter), while contemplation and rationalization work for others. Simply understanding that instincts and experiences want us to mistake one for the other will help us honor them both in whatever equation we’re considering. And that will make a difference.
Leave a Reply