Insights
Letting Go—Take A Look Ahead
I recently read an article by David Warren, a Canadian writer and journalist who spoke to the importance and value of feeling pain. In it, he quotes Joseph Ratzinger and his address on this same topic. Ratzinger said, “There is no human life without pain, and whoever is incapable of accepting pain excludes himself from that purification, which alone can make us mature.”
Warren then goes on to add the metaphor of the sculptor. He refers to Michelangelo’s reference, “The Sculptor chisels away the stone, revealing the work that lay inside it.” Michelangelo believed the sculptor was a tool of God, not creating but simply revealing the powerful figures already contained in the marble.
If we continue this marriage of the human experience of pain and the sculptor’s craft, we begin to understand why the sculptor would often talk to the stone. It seems he realizes that the beauty and amazing features that come through, like Atlas below, come from within. And that the chiseling away is the last thing to which one should give full attention.
This week, we had several clients who seemed to arrive at the realization that their injury and pain were among the best things that could have happened to them. They learned about areas of weakness that they may not have discovered for a long time. One said, “I can do exercises that I could not do three weeks ago. The way I was exercising before was ridiculous!” They learned how to manage pain and became mentally stronger than ever before. Their lives were better in many ways due to their experience through their injury and pain. Another said, “I just had surgery and even though I still have pain, I am more grateful than I can remember.”
It is clear that even though they are still working through some suffering, they have built strength and resiliency for things that are headed their way in the next year, 10, and 20 years. The chiseling and breaking away of stone reveal what is to come, exposing the powerful figures inside.
Eddie Jaku suffered as a child and as an adult and emerged as what he describes as the Happiest Man on Earth, the title of his biography. He describes moments of hope and kindness: Germans leaving food for him, Czechs tossing bread onto the train, talking with his friend. These glimpses of good during the cruelty, suffering, and pain seemed to lift him. Hope provided fuel during his rest. He was open to seeing these acts of kindness and chose to focus on what he believed was in front of him instead of what was happening to him in the prison camps.
Whether you find yourself in a position to help someone emerge or you are the one emerging, resist the temptation to dwell on the situation or the pain. Instead, seek out the moments and glimpses of good that are always present. You have the power to be like Eddie, the sculptor, and many others. Look, listen, and feel for what to believe in, and choose to focus on those things. Take a look ahead and have a peace of mind.
Reach for the stars,
Clayton Skaggs
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