There is an old African proverb that “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors,” that somehow has more allusion to our lives today, and that in spite of all of the technological advances of mankind, we cannot ‘make’ things good and right without the pain of challenges, some success, but significant disappointment. We were talking in class last week about how the world of today is changing, and that the pace of that change would have been inconceivable to earlier generations.
In fact, ‘Planned obsolescence,’ words that invoked the wrath of the late 20th century consumer, are a technical phrase and philosophy that is no longer appropriate, as consumers today are happy to update every year or two, whether it be computers, cars or phones. We talked about the astonishing breadth of changes, and so prompted to, for a moment, take success for granted, we looked at challenges and disappointment.
In looking at the challenges of, and to, faith in the contemporary world, Nada said, “We are defined by our choices, and we cannot always use the solution that was correct for someone else, because our life is ours, not theirs,” which I thought was incredibly mature.
Amani, identified her personal empowerment, writing, “I actually gain strength from my challenges. I become less and less afraid, and become more and more in control.” There was a very literary element to many responses about how we should react individually, with this one very descriptive. “I like to think of myself as a diamond,” said Marwah, “Beautiful, hard when I need to be, transparent if I must be, but with many different facets.”
While Zainab explained: “If we don’t water a plant it will die, and if we don’t keep challenging ourselves, we will never be able to respond to the challenges that lie ahead.” Dealing with disappointment became a topic of quite intense discussion too, with one young woman Baraah, being very frank, saying, “I don’t like disappointments, but that is their nature, so I take a deep breath and try to think it through. While Mayasa, in her inimitable way, offered a new twist on an old proverb, writing, “If it did not break me it will make me!” Maryam, demonstrating remarkable maturity wrote, “If we learn from all that challenges us, we are managing our disappointments in the only way we can.”
A couple took a physiological perspective, Kawther writing that “Challenges are like little cuts that bleed. They don’t bleed for long, and the scars heal quickly,” and Manar urged that we, “Look at your own fingers. Are they all the same? No, and neither are our challenges or how we should face them.”
Wadha appeared to speak from experience, writing, “We need to feel the pain sometimes to ensure we reach effective decisions, and we can’t hide from problems, can we?” Afrah has a practical, pragmatic approach, she “writes things down, then they seem more solvable, less intimidating.” And humour too surfaced with Salima writing that, “Google helps!” So do I have a post script for what my wonderful students have intimated? I guess that’s my own, not so little, challenge. We all face challenges, and disappointment is often the outcome of those challenges, but without sounding too trite, it’s how we face those challenges that define us. We don’t count, or even often identify challenges, because to do so is to give them too much influence, we manage them within our life’s experience and resolve them with the benefit of all that experience.
I’m pretty certain that we gain something from each challenge ‘met,’ whether large or small, and in any case, the experience of the challenge simply adds to our “rich tapestry”, doesn’t it? and we should learn from each and every one, shouldn’t we? The most important thing, as my old Dad used to say about challenges and problems, “You can get it wrong once Ray, but don’t be bitten by the same dog twice!”
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