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Credit: DH Illustration
The wise Sophocles remarks that the keenest sorrow is to recognise ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities. Little do we realise that in most cases the challenges we face in our lives is the result of our own doing. We blame everybody and we look for excuses. We wear a cloak of victimhood, angry at the world, rave and rant at the grave injustice being done to us.
We do not pause to look within. We do not look at our own shortcomings , to the reason why we are facing what we are facing. When we do an unbiased, introspection of our inner selves , it could initially lead to self-pity and a ‘keen sorrow’.
But we should not let this ‘sorrow’, this realization, drive us like Oedipus, the hero of the Greek playwright , to physically blind ourselves and become a wanderer in the wilderness.
We should instead identify and address the flaws in ourselves. As has been said smooth seas do not make skilful sailors. So yes, even as we must try and avoid adversity , we should also realize that sooner or later we all have to face tribulations.
In many cases, the adversity we face could be the result of our shortcomings. We would need good friends to tell us our shortcomings because we are rarely able to identify or accept shortcomings in ourselves. We need to be strong enough to learn to accept criticism and shortcomings. Having identified them we need to be able to work hard to overcome them.
This is the challenging part-for it means overcoming inhibitions, willingness to seek help. Very many of us are not able to self-correct-we need a teacher who can handhold and guide us. Adversity can also be because of situations and factors completely beyond our control. The pandemic is a classic example of huge swathes of population being caught in the most adverse of situations-not of their making. There was chaos and bewilderment as to how to handle this challenge.
If you are a believer you will be told that adversities are a way of God testing you .In either case patience and fortitude are essential to face the challenge. In either case coping with adversity takes self-realization, honesty, acceptance and determination to address the problem. It would need perseverance and faith in one’s ability.
So while we do not have to go looking out for adversity, unfortunately it will come to us sooner or later in some form or other. When it does we should not shy away from facing it, fighting it, overcoming it ,learning lessons from it and emerging stronger . To paraphrase the Bard , only then can we exclaim that sweet indeed are the uses of adversity!