Prince Hamlet cried out, after the death of his father:
(Hamlet Act 3: scene 1)
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep....
That's existential despair.... he's questioning the
meaning of life; his father's death has given him a
heightened sense of his own mortality, and quite
possibility left him believing that life has no purpose. Which of us had not experienced such moments of despair?
Such moments of deep introspection are common to us all,
some might call it a "mid-life crisis", while many others know this
desolation when they are made redundant, or equally devastating, fired. So much
of our being is "tied-up" in what we do; for most us what we do is
who we are!
"Have you met my son, the doctor?" "This is my wife, she's a
policewoman" "This is my daughter, she's a teacher"
When our "identity" changes, when we stop being a a doctor, policewoman, teacher, do we stop being
a person? No, of course not, but we are forced to find a new identity, and those around us often don't know how to respond to us any more. I experienced this when I was made redundant from my full-time employment some years ago, and I experienced it again, when my health forced me to leave a very stressful job, a few years short of retirement. I had no problem with my identity, but some members of my family did.
Right now, during this global pandemic, when millions of people are suddenly and unexpectedly, losing their jobs, they will be caught in the throes of existential despair. It's a natural human experience to suddenly changing circumstances. Such times will drive us to despair, or inspire us greater heights. We can wallow in self-pity or rise above the circumstances.
In 1908 the American author, Jack London, wrote a short story, "To Build a Fire" about a man making his way across the Yukon in frigid conditions, with only his dog as a companion. After traveling some distance in the extreme conditions the man stops and eats a meager lunch.When he sets off again and crossing a frozen river, he falls through thin ice. Knowing that he will freeze to death if he doesn't dry his clothes, he builds a fire in the shelter of some trees. As the fire begins to warm him and the atmosphere around him, a tree bough heavily laden with snow breaks and falls, smothering the fire. The man, fingers already frost-bitten, cannot relight the fire, he simply gave up and he slowly freezes to death. His dog dispassionately watches him die.
Every one of us has a breaking point, even the best and the finest among
us, whose lives seem perpetually radiant and glorious to the non-discerning outsider, even such glowing individuals know all-too-well
the crushing and bitter taste of downfall and despair. We are all, in
Nietzsche’s words “human, all too human.”
God knows everything that’s going on in our life. Psalm 139 captures this really well it reads,
“LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD.” Psalm 139:1-4, CSB
The Spanish Christian Mystic, St. John of the Cross summed up our journey through such times as "The Dark Night of the Soul" Jesus experienced such a time, as He prayed, alone, in the garden, while His disciples slumbered. Luke 22:39-46
Such a time can cause us to question our faith. Questioning our faith does NOT mean that we have lost it....Questioning it at such a time will often cause us to dive deeper into our relationship with our Lord as we search for meaning to our experiences.
From God's Word
When our "identity" changes, when we stop being a a doctor, policewoman, teacher, do we stop being
Right now, during this global pandemic, when millions of people are suddenly and unexpectedly, losing their jobs, they will be caught in the throes of existential despair. It's a natural human experience to suddenly changing circumstances. Such times will drive us to despair, or inspire us greater heights. We can wallow in self-pity or rise above the circumstances.
In 1908 the American author, Jack London, wrote a short story, "To Build a Fire" about a man making his way across the Yukon in frigid conditions, with only his dog as a companion. After traveling some distance in the extreme conditions the man stops and eats a meager lunch.When he sets off again and crossing a frozen river, he falls through thin ice. Knowing that he will freeze to death if he doesn't dry his clothes, he builds a fire in the shelter of some trees. As the fire begins to warm him and the atmosphere around him, a tree bough heavily laden with snow breaks and falls, smothering the fire. The man, fingers already frost-bitten, cannot relight the fire, he simply gave up and he slowly freezes to death. His dog dispassionately watches him die.
Every one of us has a breaking point, even the best and the finest among
us, whose lives seem perpetually radiant and glorious to the non-discerning outsider, even such glowing individuals know all-too-well
the crushing and bitter taste of downfall and despair. We are all, in
Nietzsche’s words “human, all too human.”
God knows everything that’s going on in our life. Psalm 139 captures this really well it reads,
“LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD.” Psalm 139:1-4, CSB
The Spanish Christian Mystic, St. John of the Cross summed up our journey through such times as "The Dark Night of the Soul" Jesus experienced such a time, as He prayed, alone, in the garden, while His disciples slumbered. Luke 22:39-46
Such a time can cause us to question our faith. Questioning our faith does NOT mean that we have lost it....Questioning it at such a time will often cause us to dive deeper into our relationship with our Lord as we search for meaning to our experiences.
From God's Word
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. Psalm 121 NIV
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