Maybe it's my line of work for the last 36 years (pastoring and then as a healthcare chaplain) but I have become very familiar with a quote that I've heard attributed either to the Dalai Lama or Ian MacLaren: "Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
Perhaps you've seen the videos of people walking around with cartoon balloons over their heads full of comments like "Just been told he has cancer," "Recently divorced," or "Lost her job." Such a message of compassion is sorely needed in this self-focused harsh world of today. It could help us take a breath, give each other some space, or even close the gap.
But a thought occurs to me. Is there a way to acknowledge this universal struggling but do it in a way that doesn't leave our pain and loss as our answer to our existential Final Jeopardy question? Your struggle isn't my struggle so how can I really resonate with you apart from sharing a mutual sadness or frustration? What is the point of this "battle" that engages everyone? If we could discover that, it might fuel not only our compassion but also our hope.
It makes a great difference which preposition we use here. We can "struggle in," struggle about," "struggle with," and "struggle over." If we stop here we are left as a kind of victim of circumstances. We're just caught in an ennui in which the best we can do is distract ourselves with entertainments or deaden ourselves with numbing substances.
The great movements of humanity have spoken of a "struggle for." If there is no for we might thrash against our pain but there is no purpose. It was written of Jesus that it was "for the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising its shame." (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus did not believe in the noble inevitability of pain. He believed in what lay on the other side of his struggle against sin, the flesh, and the world. The pain was a necessary part of redemption. The gain was worth the pain.
And so I have started telling myself a different mantra: "Be hopeful. Everyone you meet is fighting for a dream." Some of us pursue this more wisely than others and too many of us settle for something far less than our heart's true desire (the dream God put there as a part of His image), but each of us is in the midst of a monumental effort to take hold of what Gary Gunderson has identified as five "leading causes of life":
http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Causes-Life-Fundmentals-Change-ebook/dp/B0055UF8FM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Perhaps you've seen the videos of people walking around with cartoon balloons over their heads full of comments like "Just been told he has cancer," "Recently divorced," or "Lost her job." Such a message of compassion is sorely needed in this self-focused harsh world of today. It could help us take a breath, give each other some space, or even close the gap.
But a thought occurs to me. Is there a way to acknowledge this universal struggling but do it in a way that doesn't leave our pain and loss as our answer to our existential Final Jeopardy question? Your struggle isn't my struggle so how can I really resonate with you apart from sharing a mutual sadness or frustration? What is the point of this "battle" that engages everyone? If we could discover that, it might fuel not only our compassion but also our hope.
It makes a great difference which preposition we use here. We can "struggle in," struggle about," "struggle with," and "struggle over." If we stop here we are left as a kind of victim of circumstances. We're just caught in an ennui in which the best we can do is distract ourselves with entertainments or deaden ourselves with numbing substances.
The great movements of humanity have spoken of a "struggle for." If there is no for we might thrash against our pain but there is no purpose. It was written of Jesus that it was "for the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising its shame." (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus did not believe in the noble inevitability of pain. He believed in what lay on the other side of his struggle against sin, the flesh, and the world. The pain was a necessary part of redemption. The gain was worth the pain.
And so I have started telling myself a different mantra: "Be hopeful. Everyone you meet is fighting for a dream." Some of us pursue this more wisely than others and too many of us settle for something far less than our heart's true desire (the dream God put there as a part of His image), but each of us is in the midst of a monumental effort to take hold of what Gary Gunderson has identified as five "leading causes of life":
- That my life would make sense (Cohesion)
- That my relationships would be fulfilling (Connectedness)
- That I can effect necessary change (Agency)
- That I can receive and impart life (Generativity)
- That I (and what matters to me) will continue in some way, some where (Hope)
I am finding that this perspective helps me connect with others with greater urgency and joy. My brother's life may be incredibly hard right now. I can feel sorry for him and give him my time to listen. But what binds us at a deeper letter is the determined hope that this is not how things were designed to be. That there is a profound hope that gives meaning to the struggle. The Apostle Paul testified to this when he wrote "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.." He was willing to suffer "the loss of all things compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
The next time we meet, you may be in a good moment or in a hard place. In either case, I will do the best I can to "Be hopeful. He is fighting for a dream." I hope you will do the same for me.
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