Jan 16 Thu
Will I fit in?
Remember your first day in a new school or at a new job? The excitement of embarking on a new adventure, but the fear of wondering: Will I make friends? What will people be like? Will they accept me? Wanting, Luke Burgis coined the term “Freshmanistan.” Freshmanistan may lead to “mimesis” (imitation of a special sort).
Like other animals, we have human desires. How do we decide what we want? We often decide by observing other people and desiring what they have and do.
For example, I go out with friends to eat but nothing catches my eye. I ask the others what they are ordering. Suddenly I find that I want something I never wanted before: this is mimetic desire in operation. I imitate the desires of others without realizing it. Lacking what I desire; I may fall into envy.
The Bible reveals the role of mimesis, and the rivalry it causes. Thus, Christians can make good choices because they understand that not everything one wants is worth wanting. We look to be more. And we find that “more” in Christ.
St. Gregory Nazianzus (329–389) provides a wonderful example of the positive kind of mimesis, even as he is aware of the perils of negative mimesis.
He and St. Basil came to Athens seeking true wisdom (sophia), but often found vain professors and envious students bent more on winning disputes and gaining prestige rather than learning. Their decision to withdraw from those conflicts strengthened their resolve to do everything in common.
The love of God can transform mimetic desire and rivalry into friendship. Gregory relates, “On the contrary, we made capital out of our rivalry. Our rivalry consisted, not in seeking the first place for oneself but in yielding it to the other, for we each looked on the other’s success as his own.”
“Our great pursuit, the great name we wanted, was to be Christians, to be called Christians… We were thus the more confirmed in the faith, from our perception of the trickery and unreality [of the pagan gods], which led us to despise these divinities in the very home of their worship. And if there is, or is believed to be, a river flowing with fresh water through the sea, or an animal which can dance in fire, we were such among all our comrades."
We should escape from the uncertainties of Freshmanistan (“He has it, I want it”) and instead pursue generosity and detachment. Envy leads to detraction, rejoicing in the disgrace of others, and sadness for their success. The envious is like a vulture, flying over lovely meadows and flower beds but never minding them. Instead, it scavenges only for carrion.
From there to resentment, slandering, and minimizing the achievements of others.
To fight it, we must ask for God’s help, and practice charity toward these same persons; we must be detached and humble. The envious heart is dry and cheerless; it has lost the capacity to love… for something not worth wanting.
Some excerpts from Fr. Elias Carr, Can. Reg.
Video: