Effects of Adversity
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What do you make of adversity helping answer the question 'Why be good?' Can you share a personal experience of a time adversity helped you grow? What helps you to avoid despair when faced with adversity?
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5 Past Reflections
On Jul 22, 2015 Abhishek wrote :
I have looked at adversity, both for myself and in others very closely to see what it does....
For myself I have seen that the biggest adversity in my life (a tryst with Bipolar) opened up a totally new way of being for me (eventually, over 5 years of sitting with it) and today this fundamentally shapes who I am....
But I have also seen people regress....adversity pushes them into more base emotions and bitterness, makes them conclude (perhaps inaccurately) about the world and so on....
My sense is that the realization that we have almost no control over external events is stark, when fully embraced. Standing in that, with a belief that the Universe is well-intentioned (and that is also merely an assumption we choose) is difficult business!
Experimenting with Stoicism and engaging actively with the idea of death are practices that are preparation for adversity - and yet each time it meets me, it is always a surprise encounter! And that is what it is meant to be perhaps :)
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On Jul 21, 2015 Jagdish P dave wrote :
It is my experience and observation that we all experience adversity and suffering in varying degrees. How we take it makes the difference in the impact of adversities. I also realize that some adversities are out of my control such as natural happenings like floods, hurricanes, volcanoes and earth quakes. But most of our sufferings are self created and self-sustained,
Looking back at my life, I see how we growing up in a poor family did not suffer for not having many things others had in their lives. My parents had a deep sense of contentment with whatever possessions we had. By growing up in such a family, I did not feel the poverty within me for not having "enough" in my life. I married a woman I loved very dearly. She was born and raised in a very rich family having luxurious things she wanted. She left her home and embraced to live in the poor extended family out of deep love for me.Love and faith were our anchors that kept us flowing with the wonderful life.... [View Full Comment]
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On Jul 17, 2015 david doane wrote :
There are a lot of comments in this piece that I had difficulty with. For example, I believe all events are uncontrollable -- at best I have some influence on events. I believe our control on the world is very limited. We don't know if we are going to a "better place" after this life -- you never know. I don't even know if there is a better place. We don't know everything about adversity or anything else. You never know how long it takes to recover from trauma. Seeking out tragedy makes no more sense than seeking out anything. Protecting people from severe suffering is not a must. Now for the questions to respond to. We don't be 'good' because of the presence of or lack of adversity. I'll define 'good' for now as being true to myself. Adversity underlines that being good is the way to be, it is its own reward, it's not done because I'm in painless times or painful times. I haven't always lived up to that and... [View Full Comment]
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On Jul 17, 2015 Kristin Pedemonti wrote :
Why be good? Because being good opens the opportunity for others to be as well. I interpreted good as Compassionate; being compassionate serves everyone and often costs nothing but energy and time. Growth from adversity: I believe it is all in how we choose to view a situation: what can I learn from this? what is the potential gift in this experience? how can this help me be more compassionate and understanding of others? Personal experience: My father tried to kill himself 5 times, by the time I was 15 he could no longer work and he died when I was 22. What were the gifts? Compassion & seeking to understand what was going on for him. unless we ask and seek to understand, we do not know what is going on for someone. The asking may open an opportunity for the person to speak, share and release some of their own sadness or the burden they feel that they are alone. The experience of growing up with my father led me to listening deeply to others who may be chal... [View Full Comment]
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On Jul 16, 2015 Dan Duncan wrote :
When it is really adversity and not just inconvenience, I get through it one breath at a time.
And I remind myself of G.K. Chesterton's aphorism:
"Inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered, and adventure is inconvenience, rightly considered."
In today's economic downturn, my life is full of adventures, one breath at a time.