Is there a point to hardship? Is there a reason for suffering? I certainly hope so. My faith tells me it is not in vain. And I pray that my belief is correct in that regard.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what this world is going through. I’ve tried to console myself with the fact that it is nowhere near as difficult for humanity today as it was a century ago or two centuries ago. A thousand years ago. But tell that to the kid who’s been separated from his parents while fleeing for their lives.
Sometimes I try to remind myself of the maxim that it’s always darkest before the dawn. Other times I tell myself that’s just something we tell ourselves. But why might we do that if on some level it wasn’t true? Like I said, my faith tells me that there is another side to suffering.
Perhaps it’s useful to think of it as a form of refining, preparation, purification even. To think of it as though you were a stone in a river for a thousand years of being battered and buried, but at some point, emerging smooth and resplendent. So beautiful that, among a trillion other rocks, it catches someone’s eye and makes them want to take you home and put you on a sunlit shelf to be enjoyed in the light.
Sometimes it’s hard to comprehend the obstacles and opportunities we experience in our lives and understand why it is that they’ve occurred or how it could be that they’re connected. It’s easy to understand why someone might be angry at not being able to perceive the end goal of all the various parts of our lives, both wonderful and terrible.
What if we were to look at the state of the world right now and consider there might be a point to this? A point that people have suffered because of and given their lives to? Throughout history, people have sacrificed themselves for a greater good. Does that choice occur on the soul level too? Do we come into this world subconsciously knowing that we will have to fight the good fight?
If any of that is even remotely true, then I don’t want to lose hope. I want to believe that people who are suffering are not doing it in vain. I want to believe that peace on earth really will happen someday. And that it will happen because of the terrible lessons we’ve learned and the incomprehensible losses we’ve experienced. I want to believe that people have put themselves on the front lines just to make this world better.
But if we believe this, we have to apply it. We have to make our choices based on the hope that suffering can be the manure of a glorious garden. We have to give credence to preparation and purification. Not just in our interpretation of all of the horrible things that happen in the world, but in our rituals as well. Because it is through our rituals that we give our minds the space and pathway to not only comprehend the world, but to heal it.
Though there are many other forms of it, in this moment, I suggest we look to water in particular. Water is an intrinsic human symbol of purification, preparation, and transformation. There are myriad rituals, all using the symbol of water to remind us that we are works in progress. To remind us of our commitment to growth and expansion. To remind us that we are not filthy, soiled, unworthy souls, but miracles moving around on the Earth.
Christian baptism and foot washing are examples of using water as a symbol of purification and declaring that who exists beyond that moment is pure, ready to receive what comes next. Islamic rituals like wudu and Ghusl, Jewish mikvah, Hindu bathing in the Ganges, the Shinto practice of misogi, the list is endless because the need is intrinsic to all humanity. And if all cultures hold these rituals, then there can be no rule or law against creating your own.
I point it out because when we don’t know what to do with all that frightens and confuses us, it is appropriate to turn to various forms of ritual involving water to help us through it. It doesn’t matter if you are a religious person or not. It doesn’t matter if you have any particular belief. You can even choose to just wash your hands as an intentional symbol of moving forward with your life and leaving the past behind. Seeing it all flow down the drain and return to the planet. Hail, and farewell.
By considering water to be a symbol of the difficult purification and preparation process we are undergoing, both as individuals and as a society, we might find ourselves in greater coherence with the solutions we desire. We might find ourselves sleeping a little bit better at night. We might grant some at least momentary peace to that part of ourselves which makes us restless, anxious, and worried. Only good can come from it.
Make an assumption that there will be better days ahead. Make an assumption that what you do today is in contribution to that future. Make an assumption that you are not a mistake, and that all which befalls you, both terrible and wonderful, has a point. And then act like it.
Be the love you wish to see in the world. Wash your hands of the past and prepare them for what you’ll do next. Bless yourself. Bless others. Bless this world. Amen.
Wil Darcangelo, M.Div, is an ordained Unitarian Universalist Minister of the First Church of Lancaster at the Bulfinch Meetinghouse in Massachusetts, progressive theologian and essayist on optimistic spirituality in the Information Age. Follow him on Substack, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
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