The ancient sages wrestled with this feeling too. And in a fascinating passage attributed to Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived around the time of Jesus, we find a powerful explanation for why we often feel so…empty.
Philo suggests that the root of human corruption lies in our enslavement to pleasure and desire. We become so fixated on fleeting gratification that we lose sight of what truly matters. We become slaves to our impulses, constantly chasing the next thrill, the next possession, the next fleeting moment of satisfaction. And what's the result? A life of "extreme misery." Ouch.
But then Philo throws in a fascinating detail about where the breath of life resides: "under heaven."
Now, why "under heaven"? It's not a geographical statement, but a philosophical one. Philo is hinting at something profound about the relationship between the earthly and the divine. He implies that there are living beings in heaven, beings of pure intellect and spirit. A happy body, Philo argues, wasn't made from a heavenly substance, as if they were uniquely superior. Instead, heaven was made for those divine beings.
Think of it like this: the celestial realm, populated by "admirable and divine living beings," isn't just some distant, unattainable place. It's a source of vitality that permeates all of existence. These "intellectual spirits" share their essence, their very life force, with the creatures of the earth. They give life to all who are capable of receiving it.
It's a beautiful image, isn't it? A vision of a cosmos teeming with life, where the earthly and the divine are interconnected and interdependent. But what does it mean for us, stuck here on earth, struggling with our desires?
Perhaps it's a reminder that true fulfillment isn't found in the endless pursuit of pleasure. Maybe, just maybe, it lies in connecting with that divine essence that resides within us all. It might be about tapping into something bigger than ourselves, something that transcends the fleeting desires of the moment. How do we do this? That's the question, isn’t it? Perhaps through contemplation, through acts of kindness, through seeking wisdom and understanding.
Philo doesn't give us a simple answer. But he does offer a profound insight: that the key to overcoming our "extreme misery" might just lie in looking beyond the earthly realm and recognizing the spark of the divine that animates us all.