The Sustaining narrative follows Jonah’s feelings of isolation, and the effect that being alone has on the human psyche, and how this develops the psychological and spiritual dimensions within his life. Though Jonah appears stable to his friends and family, when alone he feels himself being crushed in by the gravity of his own being, as reality does not correspond to the expectations he holds concerning himself and others. 

 

Jonah finds himself in Aporia - both a specific place of being inside himself, and a state of being in an irresolvable internal contradiction or logical disjunction (as defined by Google). In this space, Jonah has only his own wit and hermeneutic to understand what is happening and the significance of the events that he is witnessing. But is it proper for him to justify himself? Can something be meaningful just because he thinks that it is, though it has no essence outside of his experience? What measurement could he use to validate his logic?

 

These epistemological questions are further complicated by his own fear and lack of confidence. He has made mistakes in the past that now haunt him. He feels himself fracturing from anxiety and stress, jealousy, and concerns of having gone mad.

 

In this aporial state of flux Jonah finds his sense of identity and meaning deconstructed, which ultimately becomes the catalyst for his spiritual and psychological development. Jonah's ideas of identity evolve from a composition of social roles, to a transcendence of role play and a comprehension of his identity being that which is continuously creating identity. Likewise meaning evolves from things which bring pleasure, to the ability of the mind to recognize inherent value in whatever it is focused on. For example, a dog does not have meaning because it is always nice to have around and makes someone feel better when they are alone. A dog's meaning is inherent within its form, and then can be appreciated or despised in conjunction with other beings in form. The dog's meaning is therefore explicit in the affect it has on its setting, whether that be internal, social or environmental.

 

The Sustaining narrative therefore follows Jonah's journey of self-destruction and self-discovery, and advocates for the importance of becoming unhinged. As Picasso famously said, "Without great solitude no serious work is possible."