If life is the most important possession, how come many people give up so early in their lives? How can people of robust health at the very prime of their lives think that nothing more could be done to be happy and achieve their true desires?
“But there’s nothing more I could do, this is the end for me.”
“I’ve tried everything and nothing worked!”
“I can’t see how anything could still change.”
“I feel so exhausted, I’ve ran out of the will to live.”
With these words in mind, we can now see why life seems to be meaningless if combined with other factors such as exhaustion, hopelessness and seemingly insurmountable hedges.
It isn’t because life is over that one feels defeated, but that life could never change anymore into the kind of life one desires to have that causes one to consider all life as worthless. But is it? Are the blocks we’re surrendering to realistic obstructions that can no longer be overcome?
Let’s consider some of the hindrances that defeat our hope:
1. That we’ve ran out of strength
It is true that years of trials and suffering could so exhaust our strength that we may feel unable to carry on. But exhaustion is not the same as death, and giving up is not the solution when all that we need to do is REST.
2. That nothing NEW is ever going to happen anymore
Boredom can easily sink in and render life tasteless. It would seem that nothing new ever happens anymore. But does it mean that nothing new will indeed happen in the future? How could we know? How could our words be so SURE?
We CAN’T predict everything that’s going to happen tomorrow. We DON’T KNOW. We don’t know the next person we’d meet that could make a difference in our lives. We don’t know if we’ll get sick or if we’ll get well. We don’t know the natural calamities that may strike any moment. Maybe what we really mean is that we don’t want to hope anymore because we have been hurt so many times before. Maybe we’re not merely expecting for a NEW thing. Maybe what we want is a new development towards achieving our hearts desires.
3. That there’s NOTHING we could do anymore
Is it true that there is truly NOTHING more we could do? Could it be that there is STILL SOMETHING we could do, but that we just DON’T KNOW it yet? Or could it be that we’re just too tired or too hopeless to do it? Could it be that we’re just too hurt to still try anything more?
How about being still? How about waiting? Have we tried to wait to reap the results of our labor? For just as there is time for a seed to grow, and for a flower to bloom, there must be some period of time between our efforts and the fruits we yearn to see.
How about asking for help? Have we already sought the help of others who could be in the position to help us? Or have we sought only from those who already disappointed us in the past and therefore, we think everyone else will just be the same? Have we sought God’s help? Have we tried to trust Him and allow Him to show us a different way?
In order for new things to come, we have to try new things and embark on the uncertain, on paths we’ve never known before.
4. That we’ve already tried EVERYTHING
EVERYTHING is a very encompassing word. Is it possible to have already done everything? Maybe what we mean is that we have already done everything within our powers, within our limitations. Still, could it be that we don’t know some part of us that has already become stronger through the years? Could it be that doing everything IN THE PAST is not the same as doing everything NOW in our present capacity?
Doing everything could also mean to us as doing everything that had been expected of us. It could mean doing everything we thought should be done, the way it has always been done, the way it worked for other people, or the way we thought things ought to work.
Could it be that we could still do something but doing that thing would be so new we’re afraid where it would eventually take us? In other words, could there be ANOTHER WAY?
Which doors have been closed? Which paths have been blocked? Are all paths blocked or are there just some paths you DON’T WANT to take anymore thinking you already know where it would take you?
Life is Precious
Life is still precious, a gift that would never have been given if it isn’t worth anything. Don’t give up yet. Rest and renew your strength. Then try something new, ask for help, ask even for hope that it may be found again.
You’re not the same person today. Your hurts have made you wiser; your trials have made you stronger. There is a different future now from the one you saw before. Try to see it with your new eyes, and with your new heart.
Check Jocelyn's books:
"Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief", "Mend My Broken Heart", "Questions to God", "To Love an Invisible God", "Defending My Catholic Faith", and more - click here.
(You may freely quote excerpts from this website as long as due credit is given to author Jocelyn Soriano and the website itakeoffthemask.com)