Beauty in Suffering

No one likes to suffer, feel pain, experience sadness or hopelessness, sacrifice, or be defeated; and while we’ve all heard the saying, “That which does not kill us serves to make us stronger,” it is hard to feel the truth in it during those difficult times.

I heard a beautiful message about God’s plan in church once.  The pastor spoke of an ugly lump of black coal in the earth that through years and years of being under the pressure of the world was turned into a beautiful diamond - a prized stone and a symbol of promise, commitment, and eternity.  He also spoke of a tiny worthless speck of sand that was caught in an oyster and held there, eventually turning into a beautiful, rare pearl.

I love stories like this.  These are examples nature gives us of our own inner beauty and good triumphing through trials - encouraging us to live up to our potential, like caterpillars struggling through their cocoons to open their colorful wings.

Still, for some, there isn’t a happy ending.  We search for the outcome, and cling to the hope that somewhere down the line, even if it is in someone else’s life, good will come from the grief.

The story of Jesus at Gethsemane is one that is especially bittersweet.  Many Christians believe that Jesus thought of them - not in general, but specifically and individually - as He prayed that night just before He was arrested and crucified.  It is apparent from the story in the Bible that Jesus already knew His fate at this time, and prayed to His Father that the upcoming tragedy might pass from Him; yet also saying, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” ultimately acknowledging that He would, indeed, have to be crucified.  An angel appeared to Him, to strengthen Him, yet in the next sentence the Bible says,

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.”

Shortly after His prayers, Jesus was found, betrayed, and arrested and His long physical suffering began.

It isn’t hard to see that the ending of the spiritual story of Jesus is a happy one, but can we find the beauty in the emotional pain and physical injuries Jesus the man suffered?

Finding the beauty in a terrible situation comes from appreciating the person enduring the pain and/or the circumstances surrounding the suffering.  This is especially true if you find the emotion or pain inside yourself.  You must feel the humanity of it and remember that there are many others besides yourself in the world that are feeling similar emotions, better or worse.

Auguste Rodin sculpted La Danaide, a figure from the story in Greek mythology about the Danaids - women who were punished in hell by having to fill a leaking jar or sieve with water, which they attempted to do for eternity.  In another version, she pumps water into her urn for eternity as it evaporates in the heat of Hell.  It is believed that La Danaide was originally meant to be part of a greater sculpture by Rodin, The Gates of Hell, which was inspired by Dante’s Inferno.  In the sculpture of this Danaid, the girl is collapsed in exhaustion.

Rainer Maria Rilke, who knew Rodin, expressed that it was wonderful to walk from her back to her face, which “loses itself in the stone as though in a great weeping.”

Perhaps the beauty of La Danaide is the artistry and thought that went into portraying her ... but more likely it is that great beauty stirs something within us - whether that be joy, pain, or both.  So many people identify with the feeling that the work we are doing is futile, or that we are too mentally or physically exhausted to push onward with our tasks.

Why are so many great plays, songs, epic poems, myths, famous novels, and works of art tragedies?  In truth, we as humans love to feel - to be touched - inwardly.  We love to feel our souls and know we are alive.  And there’s something about the idea that another person can reach inside of us emotionally that makes us feel connected.

The United States Marine Corps and many athletic teams believe that “pain is weakness leaving the body.”  While this is true in that feeling pain often gives us strength, it might also be accurate to say that pain is love or strength or humanity being manifested.  In a way, it helps us identify with each other.

While suffering may be unpleasant and painful, the beauty of it is to be appreciated.

"She who reconciles the ill-matched threads
Of her life, and weaves them gratefully
Into a single cloth –
It’s she who drives the loudmouths from the hall
And clears it for a different celebration."

- Rainer Maria Rilke

La Danaide was sculpted by Auguste Rodin.