Pain and Sorrow

"Yet man is born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upward." ~ Job 5:7

"Life is difficult." So begins Dr. M. Scott Peck in his searching book The Road Less Traveled.

Peck continues. "This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths." And in a footnote, he points out that it is one of the Four Noble Truths taught by Buddha, who said, "Life is suffering."

According to Peck, accepting this truth results in a form of inner liberation. While we each may experience a unique package of sorrow and troubles, it is a common fate. As the Proverb states, "Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and joy may end in grief."

Peck's message is that we should not be caught off guard. Life is hard. That is, hard things can happen to us, and unless we are made of stone these things will affect us. It is part of being human. But we can respond to this reality in a variety of ways with ultimately positive ends. Artists turn it into art, musicians into song. For many it is a weight that humbles us into self-forgetfulness and leads us into a place of greater awareness of others' pain, isolation, despair.

These are not things that happen overnight. Grief must do its work.

A number of songs came to mind today. "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton was among the first, written when he lost his four-year-old son in a tragic accident. "Fire and Rain" was a similar heartfelt song through which James Taylor bared his soul when I was a young college student.

Blackbird, from the Beatles' White Album, speaks to me from this haunted place as well.

Blackbird

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.

All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly

Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

For this reason it is not good to be alone in the world. There is value in having friends and/or family with whom we can share our burdens.

Notes: The painting atop this blog entry is by Turtle, a local Duluth artist. The blackbirds were painted from a window in my apartment my last year in college.