miserable cold

I've spent the weekend nursing a miserable cold. This improvisation reflects the mood I think. Interestingly though, the transformation in my mood (which was bleak) also was quite productive in terms of providing new perspectives on things. I 'broke down'; in Heideggerarian terms, as a result of the breakdown, the world became present-at-hand to me again. I re-found things through my state of suffering. Was this a curse or a blessing?

Since I'm very interested in the impact of the external world on my mental processes, I ought to consider those processes where biological pathologies (like colds) also impact on mental processes. What's the causal efficacy of a sneeze? What's the social efficacy of a sneeze?? If I am in-the-world with disease as well as well-ness, what is the relationship between a cold and its impact on cognition and agency? can colds be good? what about smallpox??!

I'm not certain, but I don't think these are silly questions... I'm slightly reminded of Tolstoy's short story "The death of Ivan Illych"...