When life is very difficult, people sometimes lay hold of resources that they never knew they had. The easy-going, self-centred exterior is cast off and a person of heroic stature emerges. Under pressure, false and foolish slip away. A new person emerges, or rather the one who has lain dormant these many years, tyrannized by an outward image bearing little resemblance to what was within. Suffering causes the mirror to crack. As the pieces fall away, we see what is hidden behind.
In the culture of the industrialized Western world, it is difficult to accept suffering. We are led to expect that it should not occur. If we lack acceptance or love of self-confidence, perhaps some consumer item will redeem the situation. Like some vast pharmacy, our technological society offers a remedy for almost every ailment. We come to believe it is not right to experience pain. We are encouraged to block it out, to forget our misery, to act “normally.” Millions of people walk around pretending to be “normal.”
This is an excerpt from a book Toward God by Michael Casey. If you would like to buy this book please click here.