If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide. –Mahatma Gandhi
Virtually every human being at some point in life encounters adversity: it could be tragic; it could be catastrophic; it could be life threatening.
Fear, worry, and anxiety seem overwhelming, often leading to a state of despair with no solutions, options, or escape.
This is when hope becomes a light piercing the darkness.
Sometimes, however, hope alone is not enough; it needs an ally; it needs a sense of humor to enhance and restore it.
The following excerpt from my memoir illustrates such an experience:
Late one night, a stranger crept into my apartment. He held me hostage for three days. I could not eat; I could not sleep; I barely could catch my breath; and, I left my bed only long enough to go to the bathroom. Although I was bathed in sweat, I was chilled to the bone. I lay in a fetal position for hours trying to get warm, and to protect myself from his punishing assaults. Relentlessly, the stranger tortured me with worry, self-doubt, and guilt.
For two days, I tried to figure a way out, an escape from this intruder who refused to release his crushing hold on me.
When all else failed, I turned to God. I begged Him to help me, to do whatever He had to do to stop this unexplainable, unbearable pain: a heart attack; an exploding aneurysm; a huge truck crashing through my bedroom; anything quick and painless.
When God did not seem to be listening, I became impatient and angry.
“Why not end it myself,” I thought.
I suppose that all of the years of Catholic training and Jesuit theology that I had been subjected to were primarily responsible for dismissing the idea. But there was a practical, and terrifying, reason as well.
I was convinced that I would screw it up. I believed that if it was not my time to go, then no matter how foolproof the method might be, I would spend the next seventy years lying in a hospital bed hooked up to every life support system imaginable.
It seemed as if I had not smiled in months, but that thought made me laugh. And the harder I laughed, the better I felt. Certainly not good, but well enough to get out of bed the next day and keep going. Excerpts from “I’m Afraid”
Fear is a formidable antagonist.
Hope allied with a sense of humor is a worthy combatant.
I offer these thoughts for your consideration.
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The saga continues in my next blog.
Do Not Be Afraid!!!