Inca o poveste frumoasa
The Overcoming of It "Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it."
- Helen Keller
Sea glass is an unexpected flash of color against a sandy canvas.
These gemstones of glass are abraded by the sea, literally sanded into smoothness. They seem to capture the sunlight and glow from within, not shiny and glittering, but subtle, veiled, and mysterious.
Recently at the beach with the family, Patty (my wife), suggested we look for it. Intrigued by her enthusiasm, I set out to find a piece or two. At first, the sea glass was invisible to me -- camouflaged, it seemed, against the casual observer. Gradually I began to find these tiny "gemstones" strewn amidst the rocks and detritus of the shore.
The most beautiful of the sea glass has experienced the most challenging journey. The sea pounds the glass, churning it against rocky cliffs, breaking bottles and grinding pieces on the sand. The rough edges are ground away by the constant churn of the ocean. What's left is the essence, a luminous, subtle, enduring core. Years of turmoil are distilled, strengthened, into this gem-like glass.
As I looked and found the sea glass, I thought that many people are like this glass, pounded by the "sea" of adversity. Through brutality or neglect, or the tragedies of life and death, or even near-crippling isolation, there are so many stories of pain, so many stories of people shattered on the rocks.
I found a piece of amber glass, and thought of Joan, a mother whose children seem locked into a cycle where they try to escape into drugs.
Finding a teardrop of blue glass, I thought of Corin, a dear friend all but abandoned as a young child.
A luminous clear piece reminded me of Wendy, whose daughter died recently in a sudden car accident on an otherwise perfect day.
Each piece of glass became a symbol of a person cruelly tested.
The chits of glass mounded up like a litany of sorrows and love.
Like the sea glass, many of us survive adversity, and more than survive. Our rough edges become smoother, and what's truly important becomes clear inside us. Somehow the adversity turns to strength, and while there is pain, there is the overcoming of it. Which comes from time, from love, and even from the hurt itself -- like the crashing waves smooth the glass, pain polishes our hearts.
Joan's struggles with her children's addictions has helped her become someone who seems to have endless compassion -- and a remarkable ability to see and speak truth. Corin's adversity helped him become someone who is inescapably committed to his family -- sorely tested again and again, he keeps finding the courage to love. Wendy's pain is too recent, but I suspect its already forging her incredible faith in God and in humanity.
The pain will always be there, but like the glass, time will soften the edges of loss.
This journey of healing -- where love flourishes again brighter than ever, where compassion deepens -- is a true testament to human potential. So while the glass is a symbol of pain, its beauty and power come from the overcoming of it.
As I searched out the pieces of glass, my vision changed. The more I found, the easier it became to see. I began to wonder if we could train ourselves to see into people this way? To see that essence of love within those once abandoned, within those still afraid, within the pain? I suspect that we can, and that the more we see each other this way, the more easily we'll find the "gemstones" in each other.
The sea glass is beautiful in any light, but it seems to crave the sun. Wet from the ocean, it sits shining on the sand. Maybe people are like that too -- ready to heal, on the cusp of shining.
And perhaps by simply by seeing into someones heart, cherishing both their pain and the overcoming of it, we give them light, and both shine more brightly.
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At Six Seconds, we believe that sharing stories of overcoming adversity is an important way for people to heal and be healed.
This is an EQ Reflection from the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network. Please forward to others, and please keep this part too:
©2004, Joshua Freedman,
http://www.6seconds.org