A Call
“What is it that calls
on us to think?”
Which is the call that claims
man’s/woman’s thinking?
This question, one might say,
already presupposes that thinking is
by nature something that is called for,
and is maintained and, so to speak,
retained within its nature
only by the call.
The question
“What is This that calls us into thought?”
already presupposes that thinking,
qua thinking alone,
pays heed to the calling
within it.
The question…
brings us to the problem
that thinking, qua thinking,
is essentially a call.
What Is Called Thinking by Martin Heidegger, Part II, Lecture IV, page 160
I think this is fundamentally true, moreover perhaps quite close to the taproot of the matter. That is, what is meant by “to think.” Thinking is not the same as ordering at Starbucks. Thinking is not opening the patio door so that the dog can enter from the outside. Thinking is not following a recipe, doing one’s best to prepare a more flavorful meatloaf.
Thinking is akin, but not the same as any of these day to day engagements. Thinking comes serendipitously, a moment when an ember of difference flames our soul into a blaze. Then, – limited, channeled, confined to those fold-points in the progression of my beginning of consciousness to my leaving, I can glimpse, can feel something different, inviting me to what is possible. This is Heidegger’s purpose, the landscape he intends to reveal in this book. It’s about a call that comes when it comes. Thinking is being touched on the shoulder, then you turn to shake the hand of Being that calls your name, or … you do not turn.
And why wouldn’t you?
I am a frightfully fragile soul. Life often fucks-you-up. The damage, a ripped soul can persist for a long time. You and I do the best that we can do. Often there’s just not enough time left for repair, and sometimes the resources are thin, just too thin. And living still may be brutal. The noise, like static obscures our bearings, – I remember how it felt to indistinctly hear the call.
There are times even now, I just want to scream – and then jump!
