Much enthusiasm has been curbed by arrested development

enthusiasm (en-th!?ze-az?em) noun 1. Great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause. 2. A source or cause of great excitement or interest. 3. Archaic. a. Ecstasy arising from supposed possession by a god. b. Religious fanaticism. Late Latin enthusiasmus, from Greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein, to be inspired by a god, from entheos, possessed : en-, in + theos, god.

Word History: When the English philosopher Henry More stated in a work published in 1660 that "If ever Christianity be exterminated, it will be Enthusiasme," he clearly used the word differently from the way we do now. He was also using a meaning that differed from the first sense, "possession by a god," recorded in English (1603). Enthusiasm and this sense of the word go back to the Greek word enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective entheos, "having the god within," formed from en-, "in, within," and theos, "god." Henry More in 1660 was referring to belief, either mistaken or unsupported by evidence, in one's own inspiration by the Christian god. Enthusiasm, as now most frequently used, has become secularized and at times weakened, so that one can speak of an enthusiasm for fast cars.

The phrase attributed to Joseph Campbell comes to mind - Follow Your Bliss. The word passion, too. To be enthused, excited, energized, or passionate about what we are doing or engaged in is a dream for many. Delving into the farthest reaches of the psyche is supported by a particular manifestation of these qualities often referred to as a Love of Truth.

A central characteristic of Love of Truth is curiosity, a curiosity that transcends the dualistic mind's need for definition. This curiosity is associated with a subtle center in the chest and is more closely associated with the heart than the mind. The mind functions in a brilliant fashion with a sense of enthusiasm flowing through it like living quicksilver.

Artist: www.sublimatrix.com

Suffering the Curse of Arrested Development

There are few things more obvious on this planet than arrested development. With a little light-hearted public observation we can see that many people live in a rut of arrested development. It is natural for children to need tending. Their curiosity leads them around and in their wake comes mom or dad picking up after them. There appears to be a very large segment of our population still stuck in infancy - being led around not by curiosity, but by appetites, insecurity and emptiness and leaving a mess in their wake. These children have jobs, drive cars, and pay taxes. They like to believe they are mature adults, but simple observation reveals the arrested development - a lack of capacity for emotional depth, a lack of awareness on what is going on around them, a lack of consideration for others, a sense of entitlement, and a constant mess for others to pick up. It's not unusual for them to react like two-year old's if this is pointed out to them.

A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention. Experience is not a matter of having actually swum the Hellespont, or danced with the dervishes, or slept in a doss-house. It is a matter of sensibility and intuition, of seeing and hearing the significant things, of paying attention at the right moments, of understanding and coordinating. Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him. (attribution lost)

"Religion is for people who have not yet had a spiritual experience." -  Aldous Huxley

Artist: Maria William