“I may be more whole now than I have ever been in my life” a quote from a soldier that had lost both his legs and his right arm in battle. Those words resonate with me so much because I have realized divine moments in the darkest times and who better to bring that point home than a wounded soldier whose life is altered forever.
Life is measured much with things, wealth, power-and next in line is appearance-which is usually thin and perfect and where nature fails there is always Photoshop to fill in the imperfections. Our children are taught what is successful and what is of worth by the bombardment of the media with images of what is beautiful and what is considered successful while well meaning parents insist the opposite is true. Bullies are celebrated on the news and in every fashion and tabloid blurb as the line between tabloid trash and news blurs. In the midst of a lack of empathy and respect for our neighbor, we try to teach our children that bullying is wrong. Trophies and fabricated accolades boost our children’s self esteem on a weak and empty foundation while the powers that be insist we don’t keep score. I believe that these are all flaws of living in a world that rejects the divine and where science attempts to explain all miracles. The statement that the soldier made would turn our secular utopia on its ear on the premise of logic if nothing else.
How could one be whole and feel joy when their legs and limbs are gone, that which we consider basic necessities to our fulfilled life. This is where nature and the divine directly contradict our whole idea of what is good and meaningful. I watched Sunday morning today, something I have mentioned in previous entries, and I finally realize and can articulate why I love this show so much. The show celebrates people, their struggles and successes and connects us with how life is not the tidy or perfect and how meaning and worth far transcends our mere appearances. The quirks in us make the mundane amazing, our failures make successes valuable and our lives are measured by the wisdom and joy of our experiences not the worth of our belongings. Stories of the unattractive, by media standards, that become the leading actor or the successful face to launch a campaign are celebrated and people that find new lives and possibilities in the darkest times.
Back to that soldier, he was singing Leonard Cohen’s’ Hallelujah and only after losing his limbs realizes its meaning. He is singing with Roger waters with other soldiers who have all lost limbs or eyes and they are finding worth, meaning in their lives that have been altered, to me this is a testament to find worth in our lives despite tragedy or the misfortune. I see the divine as the miracle that fills those gaps and make our struggles and failures mean something. While we have lost and suffer calamites, against all logic, we are never more whole.