In sum, our anxiety in the face of death creates either suspicion or superficiality depending upon whether our anxiety is basic or neurotic, whether we are focused on survival or self-esteem. Either way, love becomes compromised in the face of these fears. To be set free from these dynamics—to be liberated from slavery to the fear of death—we need to create a new sort of identity. As described in chapters 5 and 6, this new identity is an eccentric identity, one received as gift rather than owned as a possession. Such an identity allows us to engage in acts of kenosis—letting go of the self in
...more
