We have all
experienced a head cold. As a teacher, I am particularly susceptible to them
since I spend every day around children. They come on suddenly, when out of a
clear blue sky we feel that ominous, tickling sensation deep in our sinus
cavities, often accompanied by a sneeze or two. For a brief while we convince
ourselves that it’s just allergies, or a little dust in our sinuses. We mollify
our fragile psyches with false assurances: “it’s not a cold… I’ll be fine.” But
the moment inevitably arrives when our nose becomes a faucet and our head a
throbbing, pressure cooker. The congestion eventually settles in our chest as
we begin the agonizing cycle of coughing, exacerbated by a sore throat.
This is
suffering. It strikes unforeseen, sadistically disrupting our daily routines.
There is a
moment during every cold where the same thought inevitably crosses my mind:
“How on earth could I have taken for granted the wonderful feeling of being
able to breathe through my nose, having no congestion, being able to finish a
sentence without coughing up a lung.” Suddenly, the simplest blessings, things
we take for granted every day, become our heart’s greatest desire. And when the
cold finally abates, there follows a day or two where we truly are appreciative
of our good health. But that period of gratitude comes and goes all too
quickly… until the next cold, that
is.
I assume most
people can relate to the trials of a head cold. I write about the experience
with a healthy dose of hyperbole (in case you couldn’t tell), but the
sensation, exaggerated as this account may be, is all too real. A head cold in
the grand scheme of things is low on the list of actual tribulations. As
terrible as it may seem at the time, it pales in comparison to the true
suffering of a terminal illness, the death of a loved one, financial
catastrophe, unanswered prayers, unrequited love. These are the experiences
that have tortured human existence for time immemorial, leading many to
nihilism and misery. No matter what our station in life, no matter the size of
our bank role or the strength of our arm, we are all subject to the
world-shattering travails of human suffering. Suffering and death are the two great
equalizers.
But what if we
could eradicate misery? How many of us at different times in our lives have
wished it could be so? Imagine a world without suffering, without death. At
first glance it seems like Eden reborn, like a perfect utopia. And if it came
to be it certainly would feel wonderful… but only for a little while. Eventually
however, true Joy would become a distant memory, unattainable. Our greatest
achievements would be as straw upon the wind or a single grain of sand upon
the seashore. Existence, life, the very act of being itself would cease to
possess even the tiniest sliver of meaning.
In truth, it is
suffering, imperfection, death and misery that allow us to experience and
appreciate the absence of sorrow, the ordinary, the everyday. In the same way that
a head cold helps us to value good health; in a much more powerful way death
and suffering allow us to treasure life because
of its fragility – rather than in spite of it.
There is a scene
in the movie Troy where the hero Achilles speaks of the inherent beauty of
mortality. He makes the claim that the gods of the Greek pantheon who are
immortal and exponentially more powerful than humans, are in fact envious of our humanity. Achilles says:
“The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
This perspective
is certainly cold comfort to anyone in the midst of grief. Grief is inescapable, it is the natural reaction that our body makes in response to tragedy.
You could no more prevent grief than you could stop your hair from growing. But
for those of us who are not currently struggling through misery, those of us
who are in the middle of our seemingly ordinary, day to day humdrums, should
take a moment to reflect upon this thought. There is no such thing as an ‘ordinary
day.’ Every day is beautiful. Every day is a gift from God. Every day ended, is
gone forever. And that is beautiful. Suffering is in our future, death lies ahead,
misery waits… But beauty is in the contrast, happiness is in the ordinary, joy
is in the now.
“But seek first the kingdom [of God] and His
righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry
about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient unto the day, is
the evil thereof.” – Matthew 6:33-34
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