Socrates' Cave

Socrates illustrated the concept of a greater truth outside known reality with the story of a cave. In his allegory, people are living in a cave watching shadows on the wall. The shadows are all they have known and to them, it is reality. One day a person escapes from the cave and is blinded by the sunlight as he emerges. When at last his eyes adjust, he discovers that there is a whole world beyond the cave and returns to free the others. Upon entering the cave his eyes must readjust to the dim light making it difficult for him to recognize the once familiar shadows on the wall. The people of the cave believe his outside experience has caused him to lose his ability to discern and doubt his claims of a better life. I can't decide if I am living in the cave or have escaped from it.

When my husband died, my daughters and I left Los Angeles for life in Colonial Town, Virginia. We live with my sister in her home with her family. Gone is the cave with housekeepers, private schools and a fast lane lifestyle. This is the world of chore charts, public schools and only one Japanese restaurant. At least there is sushi.

I have embraced our new Spartan circumstance with a clear mission to get our lives on track. As my Army officer brother-in-law is fond of saying, we spent our summer "marching about the grounds breathing deeply." First, we worked hard in the yard and then we played together late into the evening until the setting sun sent us to bed. Now we're back to school where the focus is on learning and making friends, not getting ahead and being "in." Our days are filled with simple meaningful tasks, but recently I've started to poke my head outside of my foot soldier's cell. My inner cosmopolitan is athirst.

Fortunately, there are samplings to whet the appetite; many major retailers are nearby from Williams Sonoma to Trader Joe's. Each offers some flavor of the outside world. There is even a quaint cooking school, a local winery and a vibrant Shakespearean society. Colonial Town is well-grounded in the simple life with just enough culture to remove it from the woods, but the boundaries of this cave are quickly found and soon I will have seen everything in it. I know there is more, I used to live there.

Los Angeles is the Western entertainment capital and there is nothing like living in the milieu of organic creation whether it is industry, politic, art or fashion. The entertainment industry reflects and sometimes even shapes the bell curve of our American culture. By definition it is exciting and current. The sheer volume of marketers and consumers ensures that there is always some breakthrough in excellence or trend to be a part of; whether it is fashion or multicultural expression, it often begins or quickly arrives in LA.

I recognize that Los Angeles is not a compendium for all that is excellent in the world. Truly it is lacking in many areas, but it is on the short list of the important cities of the world. It is energizing and taxing to live there as though you are in one of the front seats of a roller coaster ride around the sun. Now I am out of that lead car, but still I am traveling nonetheless. This life transition causes me to assess just what it is I left behind and where exactly am I.

Was Los Angeles the "real" world? To be sure things exist there that don't exist here. Or, are the thrilling competition, materialism and passing beauty just shadows on the wall? Stripped of all that, perhaps this Virginia town is the "real" world. It has much good to offer without the stressors. Like the cave dweller, I've had a blinding experience with the sun and now I must discern what is real. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of competition and constant new creation; it makes one feel alive.

Yet, these activities distract from the calm peace of just "being." I know the inhabitants of either cave would champion the veracity of their own realities. The quiet calm is stagnant and akin to being dead; the constant running is distracting busyness and never lives what it strives to create. So which is the real world? I have to figure it out. I don't want to waste my life watching shadows on the wall while the true experience lies within walking distance.

For now, my answer is both worlds are real and I will live in each of them until I have discerned where the ultimate truth lies. Though I live here, I will dine at the sushi restaurant and sample the local wine. I will drive to DC and someday once again fly to France with my daughters. I will read fashion blogs and wear clothing that renders me a local curiosity. I'm excited to have two caves, but which one is the vacation home?

Comments

[mgh234]

ugh, I hate Absolutism and Objectivism...Everything is subjective, there is no "right" and "wrong." I thought philosophy has evolved to the point that we can transcend the cave metaphor.

[dadw5boys]

My graddad taught me Socrates lived in a cave because if he had aspired to have a large Roman home then he could have had those luxuries threatened by the powerful people he challenged with all his question.
By not being seduced into the consumerism of the times he was able to maintain his ethical postion and demand answers of powerful people and the Government when others feared to act. This advantage was not lost on the Rulers of the time as they tried to give him valuable things and befriend him so they might encrouage him the be less aggressive with his questions. Socrates knew nothing is ever free.
Times have not changed much have they. People fear losing their pocessions and are willing to let their Government act freely without restraint while only a few will risk all to challenge POWER when it gets out of hand.
We become blinded by our own desires and pocession to the point we lose our prospective of the world we live in.

[Big Plans B]

Well, I wouldn't get too hung up on the accuracy of the title or interpretation of the metaphor. Nor would I respond to you with snide remarks about retail stores because I don't think you are being critical or snobby - I think you are trying to describe the degree of development and commercialization of your town, so that the reader has a clear picture of your environment. Your point is well-taken, there are significant differences between the two places and you are simply noting them and trying to decide which of them are really important to you. To me, you sound very open to both and seem to be honestly searching for the best fit. I wish you the best of luck and strength in your search, and applaud you for admitting that you do value the "superficial" things of life, as well as the deeply important.

[BlueInARedState]

Sorry, Anne, but you sort of missed the point of the metaphor. Every place is the cave and we are all chasing shadows. Neither of your "realities" is real.

The bright light outside the cave isn't at Trader Joe's. It's within.

I am sorry for the loss of your husband and wish you and your family only the best.

[groovychaos]

ummm...no disrespect to your message, but it's actually "Plato's Cave", Socrates being the character, the voice

[tcagle]

Plato's Allegory, featuring Socrates' cave.

[A.M. Plant]

Thank you for being my voice.

[Sycorax]

What would you do without that lone Williams Sonoma, and a measly Trader Joe's to quench your shopping needs? Thank goodness the natives have a "quaint" cooking school to keep themselves from being so bored. But surely they'd rather be stuck on the 405 South! How do you say "bumper to bumper" in French? I guess I'll just have to pop over to Paris to ask.

[NedFlanders19]

Anne,

Perhaps it is a case of the middle road. As said earlier, neither may be always the "right" one. Both have their plusses and negatives, and there is no rule saying you must choose one over the other forever.

Why not enjoy the best of both worlds and realize that there is a time for self (the cave) and a time with others (outside the cave).

The world is not black and white as many want it to be. It is various shades of grey. Enjoy the different experiences offered by both the cave and the exterior and you just may find another gift awaits you.

With Heart,
Ari

[Ben Dixon]

Perhaps you over think things. Yes Socrates implies that the cave is the inferior reality becuase it's not as big and expansive as the outside world, but if the cave fits your needs then its good enough. Perhaps its not a question of knowing which reality is better, but of know that the two are differant, not neccassarly better.

[A.M. Plant]

Very true, Ben, and well advised to "know thyself."
And, as Ari has illuminated, joy and life are in the exploration and appreciation.
Thanks, guys.