I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about some of the really horrible things that can happen in life, in general. Between things like catastrophe, accident, illness, loss, pain...
Stress, strain, grief, and pain, are all a part of life, but we don't need to have it rule our lives.
I have always believed, and I still believe,
that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way
we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.
~ Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Do you think this kind of thing is really possible, my friends?
Is it really possible to find good in every situation?
I've experienced a great deal in my years (which are not as many as some, but more than others), and I have listened through the stories of friends, whanau and other loved ones as they purged their deepest secrets in a painful, but healing, catharsis. Some of the things experienced by some of these people turns the blood cold and the heart into a lump right above a queasy stomach. Honestly, some of the things that can go wrong with life and the human body are nearly unfathomable, and if that doesn't do the trick, humans are great at finding ways to mess things up even further!
Honestly, how does one find meaning and/or value in things that are too horrific for me to describe here? How is it possible, for instance, that I could know all of these experiences (never mind those of my own), and still have hope, and believe in the members of humankind? How is it that I've not given up on us all as a lost cause? It could be so easy!
But you know... I'm one of those people who have an incurable optimism, and I've an ability to keep pushing through even when someone doesn't look like they even believe they're worth it, themselves (or I, myself). They always have meaning. They always have value. We always do. All of us.
But what of it? How much can one person take before they don't have to worry about turning it into something with meaning and value? Well, there are a lot of examples of people who have turned tragedy into something to fit that idea. Elie Wiesel, Anne Frank, or Viktor Frankl, for instance. (For a beautiful expression of this idea, see this video I found of Frankl explaining how to make the most of ourselves and each other!) I realize these are all names found in the archives of the Holocaust, and yet there are thousands - millions - of others all around the world who have done, and are doing, much turning tragedy into some form of triumph!
If you've read from their words, you'll know what I mean. These are people who have taken their indescribably horrific journeys and turned them into a means of helping guide others to better things. Countless people have used people like these as inspirations as they keep trying to move forward in their own, painful circumstances. "It could always be worse! Just think about ___." That is not exactly one of my favorite ways of looking at things, but I know it does work wonderfully for others, and I don't knock it!
Let me make one thing clear, before I continue: I am in no way comparing myself to the likes of them in scale, mostly because I don't believe in comparisons, but a good deal because I know that I'm living it pretty cushy when you see others who haven't nearly so much! If I have access to the internet, does it matter what is going on, on the other side of the screen? I don't know... that's just one question I've had to ask myself. Because even on my worst days, I have been able to run this Project...and you know, that's pretty freakin' amazing, to me! And believe me, I am deeply grateful! If the day comes that the funds to pay for things like that completely disappears, or must be channeled into food, medicine or a roof, well... hopefully other ways will open up, if it's something the universe decides is worth continuing, right? Anyway, I digress again. My point is that even on my worst days, my challenges are nothing compared to surviving what they did, and that's a very valuable thing to remember!
So what are you actually trying to say, PB?
Good question!
I suppose if I relate it directly to me, I must say that I understand the idea of using the skill of finding more positive spins on our experiences - as a survival tool, really. How could I have survived some of the things I've faced, if I hadn't had a way of seeing it through a positive, or at least neutral light? How do I face the rest of my life in a recently-realized, poorly-constructed body at war with itself, if I don't find something worth living for? What do I do to make something of my life, so that when I do die, I'm not going to just wilt away and be completely forgotten within a generation? How do I make my life worth living?
For one, I spend some time, every day, doing something in the effort to help someone else. I try twice a day to add content to the PB Facebook Community Page. Once a week I spend a fair amount of time here, ramblebabbling into a blog, in hopes it might inspire someone to think of things in a new way. I tell my story. I give my ideas. I share my hopes, and I share part of my life, with every person who sees the words, posters or other things I've created. I share love with everyone I touch with my words, and I hopefully am turning the fact that my life is not as I would have liked nor expected it to be, into something even I can still value and have meaning.
So what can you do, my friends?
What is your heart trying to nudge at you, right now? It already knows what you can do, even if it's asking someone you know for ideas on how to make it happen. Or a lot of someones. Start with something. Anything. Just start. Do something, even something small, but do it and keep doing something, every day, one step at a time. By not letting life win, you win. Fight back by making something of your experience that means something!
I believe in us, my friends. I do. I think that working together, we have the potential to make something really great of this world. But really, it's up to each of us to decide we're in it, and we're in it for the "long haul", because only through all of us working together can we make a wider, even global, impact for good!
Feel free to give ideas or suggestions, either in the comments below* or on the PB FB Page. I love hearing from you!
Better days ahead, my friends!
*2019 Update: Google has recently taken away Google+, which ran and promoted the Blogger comment sections. I was never able to access comments properly, but now it's pretty much impossible, so either hop on over to the FB Page, or try me at thephoenixandthebutterfly@gmail.com Thanks!
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