Realization of the Day

While reading and discussing Flannery O'Connor's "Parker's Back" with my senior class:

There is never one answer to the question, "Why did he do that?" or even "Why did I do that?" The motivational matrix that underlies any human act is beautifully and irreducibly complex.



And I think few people have understood the religious implications of this as well as Flannery O'Connor.

Any thoughts on the impossibility of answering the question, "Why did you do that?"

3 comments:

Eyes_Wide_Open said...

Complex, yes. If we're honest with ourselves, often we can only answer like our children..."I don't know."

Sometimes I really take the time to stop and think, "What WAS my motivation for doing that?"

And sometimes I just can't even answer that question.

I'm a sinner often motivated by selfishness and seeking my own gain.

BUT, at times it's the overflow of what God has done for me and His presence in my life that causes me to act in a way that's glorifying to Him.

Sadly, those cases aren't as often as the selfishly motivated ones.

May He never stop working on me.

Mainely Me said...

He won't.

Anonymous said...

i think yoko would agree with you: rather than use your mind to understand you actions, use deliberate action to understand your heart
http://100acorns.blogspot.com/