“You do not need to know precisely what is happening or exactly where it is going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.” Thomas Merton

I found the above quote in a serendipitous way. You know how it goes- you start looking up something online, that leads to something else and then another something else until voila- you find a quote or essay or video that strikes a chord with you. The above quote was found in one such rabbit hole as I was reading a piece of writing from a former acquaintance. Turns out it was the above quote that resonated with her during a faith-questioning time following the initial diagnosis of a debilitating chronic illness.

It has struck me too because of late, friends and family have been bombarded with all sorts of twists, turns and unknowns in their life journeys: unforeseen diagnosis, hospitalizations, existential questions of “Why me?”, “Why bother?”, “What is the point of life?” Questions about what is happening in their lives and where they are headed on this journey.

Last Friday there was a piece on StoryCorps about a women in Leverett, MA who went around town and interviewed various people about their experiences during this pandemic and lockdown. The woman had her own time of unknowns: her daughter had died a couple of months before the pandemic and then she lost her job at the beginning of the pandemic. She found that interviewing others helped her find footing in her life. As she said, “Doing these interviews gave me a sense of purpose and meaning that I badly needed. Just when things seemed so dark, I found some light in the words of the people all around me.”

I was especially taken with her feelings of purpose and meaning. That seems to be the crux in life: we were designed to have purpose and meaning and because we are thinking beings, to recognize it. Most people can endure hardships when there is an understanding of purpose or at least some type of positive outcome/useful experience for others to the hardship. One may not enjoy the difficulty but at least if the hardship serves some kind of purpose and meaning there is some acceptance.

I found an interesting article in a 2018 post on Psychology Today, “Finding purpose in the Face of Tragedy and Adversity”.

“Regardless of whether people believe that “everything happens for a reason” or believe in a higher plan, and regardless of how resilient or vulnerable they are, most are able to derive some meaning in the face of adversity if some good comes from their suffering and misfortune, for themselves or others. And people are often remarkably adept at achieving this. The good that people make from bad usually does not make the bad event “worthwhile,” let alone indicate that the event was cosmically intended, but it can help people deal with their trauma and derive some meaning from it.”*

I also heard an interesting story about the “desk guys”: a father who built desks for his virtual-schooling children and a local business who wanted to do something for the community. The father had made a video demonstrating how he made the school desk for his kids. The video caught the attention of the local store who was willing to provide supplies for desks. The two entities partnered and have been able to help families in the community. From their standpoint, they “just want to help” and the recipients are so grateful because the desks “lift people’s spirits up”. One good deed, encourages the spirit and also motivates more good deeds. The father who was making desks said that one night as he was working in his garage, a man approached him, asked, “Are you the desk man?” and upon the affirmation, the gentleman handed the dad $20 for materials for a desk. A simple act yet the father was even more encouraged. “Good folks are out there.” Even an incident as disrupting as a global pandemic, has positive outcomes where courage, faith, and hope can be embraced.

What about you? How are things going for you? Do you find your life is chaotic, out of control? Is there anything that you have discovered about yourself or others through this time? Have you recognized any challenges or possibilities in the midst of the hardship? Have you found any meaning or purpose? Seen any courage, faith or hope displayed?

In the midst of any chaos, turmoil or suffering in one’s life, there is a way to endure. There is a place to know that whatever one experiences, there is goodness that comes out of difficulties, both large and small. For most individuals, the power of getting through difficulties it just that- getting through. There may not be any big societal or personal change but rather the reward of stick-to-it-ness and found meaning through the sharing and encouragement of one another. It is the small things that keeps us going: the kind note, the smile, the listening, the sharing of time, talents or resources. It is the learning and accepting that hardships will happen and that we cannot control or predict the future. Our task is to be present in the moment and to act accordingly- to find the challenges and opportunities as well as to be witness to the hardship. Sometimes that is for ourselves. Other times it is the opportunity to bear witness of another’s hardship. Either way it is an opportunity to rise about the hardship with courage, faith, and hope. At least that is my prayer when I experience difficulties. May it be yours too.

*https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-purpose/201811/finding-purpose-in-the-face-tragedy-and-adversity