"What puzzles me is something else, and the doctors do not seem to have an explanation for it, and that is, why, after having been through what must have been a terrible experience, and lying in complete darkness with a mass of fractures and wounds, I am feeling so wonderful." ~ Albie Sachs in The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter
The older I get, the more I realize that it is not so much life's experiences that shape us but our responses to them that do. I am reading in preparation to hearing him speak on Thursday night, Sachs' autobiography about life after the car bomb that ripped off his arm, destroyed his sight in one eye and left his body riddled with shrapnel. What the bomb did not damage was his Freedom Fighter spirit.
He was so happy to be alive that he confounded doctors, colleagues, and even friends. When I think back on my own valleys in life, I am grateful that I could stand strong and cling to the joy that remained. Those are pure moments of grace that I hope I will always recognize.
In your complete darkness, can you still feel wonderful?
Peace,
Suzanne
No comments:
Post a Comment