The Act of Insurgency
Throughout history we humans have been fascinated by the idea of hell, of punishment and suffering. Why is it so? From our recollections we have all been entranced by the idea of suffering. In Buddhism the cycle of life death and rebirth or samsara is propelled by suffering, to be free from this cycle is to be free from suffering. So does that mean that we are put in this world only to suffer? And even to face some form of punishment for our sin of existing. To repay the sin of Adam and Eve? Our parents who sought after forbidden knowledge and has been cast aside to this pseudo hell called earth? Is it for that purpose that we are here today?
Everyone in this world suffers, albeit in different degrees, the hell that we go through is not the same hell that others experience. For Sartre hell is other people but to Kierkegaard hell is the feeling of loneliness and the anxiety that comes out of it. So then are we experiencing our personal forms of hell? Predestined to suffer pain and anguish, unable to escape and doomed to repeat it over and over again. From heartbreak, to disappointment, to illnesses, and many other forms we are continuously tortured grounded and chained in an unflinching and cruel world. If it is our destiny to suffer here, then why are we still able to talk, and smile, and wave to each other even in the worst of times?
All of us seek a form of fulfillment, to know what it is that ‘completes’ us, for proof that our existence is one that is filled with meaning. That fulfillment which grants us happiness and joy is the thing that we so desperately seek. In achievements, in wealth, in creations, in families and loved ones, the things that matter to us differs just the same as the things which hurt us. So then if we are put in this world destined to suffer does that mean that our happiness in the face of these hardships an act of insurgency against our destinies?
To rebel against our destiny, against our predestined suffering, to love with all we have despite it all shows the resilience of humankind. In her book “A Paradise Built In Hell” Rebecca Solnit examines the strengths of societies in the face of adversity. In how even though some people would like us to believe otherwise, in reality when faced with extreme conditions there are no shortage of us that would rise to the occasion to help each other. According to Socrates humans are creatures of virtue, we are attracted to the attributes of good that can lead us to a fulfilled life, to the ultimate good that we so seek.
This pandemic has showed us, quite surprisingly but not so surprising either, the best of what we can be. Super humans that can adapt and push through even in the worst of times. Each day you can find small acts of kindness that shine through, even today, even in this unforgiving time the insurgency is alive and well, keeping hope alight even in the darkest of times. From a parent fixing a mask in their child’s face and teaching them to not touch any surface in public, to a child driving their elderly parents to get vaccinated. We have been tested over and over again but yet we always find the little happiness within. To endure and to persevere, that is what makes us human, to find the little bits of paradise even in hell.
Again and again we find reasons to continue on with life, whether it be a dream to achieve, a thing to buy, a person to love, even if our paths of suffering diverge the thing that we seek is clear. And once again the strength of humans is proven, to maintain this normalcy even in the face of a great catastrophe where it would be very easy for us to fall apart, people still find a reason to cook rice in the morning and air out their laundry. Our fall from grace was never meant about reclaiming it, but it’s about realizing that our grace and salvation can be found in here. Enduring and enduring all the pain and suffering, to rebel against destiny that wills us to be so, and to keep the hope that a light at the end of the tunnel still exists for each and everyone of us. Achingly we trudge on, one step at a time in our act of insurgence
