It is set to happen to all at varying degrees and
times,
It takes different forms, but always has its final
blow on the heart,
It brings to question the sincerity of what we really
stand for,
It shakes the very core of what makes us what and who
we really are,
And resultantly exposes and answers the question,
“Whose are we?”
It can be as mysterious as it can get, as it may have
no agenda,
Sometimes it goes way above human reason and logic,
It hits those who abide by the universal code of
morality and ethics,
The same way it gets to the yard of those who are a
law unto themselves,
It seems to originate in a cosmos divorced from that
of our own.
When suffering is overwhelming, it forces all to
revisit the drawing board,
It questions the purpose of existence, and points to
the futility of order,
It either pushes us further away or towards our own
convictions,
It erases the grey line in-between and leaves no
middle ground,
Suffering forces us to choose a side and to pursue a
different course.
When suffering is overwhelming, it brings us to a sanctuary of reality,
It drives us to a place of solitude where we can confront
our own enemy,
It can only be fought, understood and confronted
individually,
It is not distant but always an uncomfortably intimate
experience,
Whose mark cannot be bloated away at least in this
life we are living.
When suffering is overwhelming, all feedback vanishes
but echoes,
Echoes of our own questions, doubts, groans and
disillusionments,
Everything crumbles to a bitter predictable and
desperate “Why?”
It is a question that is never answered but leads to
the sanctuary,
Where there is a wide rear mirror which puts
everything into perspective.
When suffering is overwhelming, all evil is magnified
and good belittled,
It all appears like hell has been emptied of its
devils right onto our doorstep,
All we can hear are the drums of despair drowning the
whispers of hope,
It empts us of all prior knowledge leaving a huge
thirsty void,
It’s always a crescendo of despair spiraling into a
chasm of meaninglessness.
It is always an invidious and awkward position no one
would opt for,
It seems like its forever, thus contaminating the greater part of our
existence,
When suffering is overwhelming the ground on which we
stand seems fluid,
Our knees seem to melt away, we suddenly feel naked
and exposed to all,
When we suffer, we ask questions and try to pursue
justice but in vain.
It can only be in the sanctuary where the strength to
stand is found,
It is in surrender that we gain control and in
trusting that we come out victors,
It is not in questioning that we obtain answers but in
holding on to the faith,
It may not even be answers that we may need but the
assurance and hope,
For suffering may be that great fire brought to purify
the gold we carry within.
