What We Can Learn from Sadness
BY RACHEL LAVICTOIRE / AJT//
Bad things happen. They come at different levels of severity and affect everyone in different ways, but they happen nonetheless. I mean this in the most matter-of-fact way.
We lose loved ones, we make mistakes, we fall ill and we say the wrong things. Acknowledging the sadness in our lives shouldn’t be upsetting or hopeless, but rather comforting and motivational.
Sounds a little strange, right?
Obviously, it feels unnatural to be grateful for unhappiness. But I find it important to understand that every event – whether it’s big or small, positive or negative – inevitably impacts the entire course of our lives.
This may seem somewhat trivial, but have you ever considered how your life would change if you woke up an hour before you normally do? It’s something that crosses my mind on a regular basis.
Think about it. If you wake up an hour earlier, maybe the traffic light patterns would be different and you’d hit more green lights. Maybe your normal barista at Starbucks wouldn’t be at work yet, so you’d meet someone new.
Or maybe because you have some extra time, you skip Starbucks and stop for a sit-down breakfast at the bagel shop.
The possibilities are endless, but the reality is that just by sleeping one hour less, you’re introducing yourself to a different world.
I use the same reasoning with bad situations. Maybe it’s logical, or maybe it’s just crutch that I’ve trained myself to find comfort in; regardless, it works. Take, for example, the ever-so-relatable experience of college/Greek-life/career decision-making. Specifically, I’ll use sorority recruitment because it’s everything that consumes my life right now; but you can substitute in plenty of other situations.
This week, about 400 girls, myself included, rushed seven sororities. We went to all seven in two days, spending exactly 55 minutes at each sorority. Of those 55 minutes, probably 20 were used for presentations and cheers, leaving 35 minutes to talk to the current members. It was organized like speed dating, and when time was up, you left.
Then, over the next few days, the PNMs (Potential New Members) ranked sororities, and the sororities ranked PNMs. Many girls were cut from their favorite sororities, and some were cut out entirely, vetoed by all seven.
Obviously, failing to get a bid from your favorite sorority is not on the same level as losing a loved one or getting sick, but as a freshman college girl, it’s pretty devastating.
And yet, missing out on one thing only leaves you with more time to do others. As cliché as it sounds, “when one door closes, another opens.” And it’s not just about the opportunity.
Sure, it would be great if someone who got cut from a sorority moved on to become the president of some other club, but it’s also about the experience of being cut – about learning to recognize your own sadness, understanding what’s causing it and making choices to bring yourself happiness.
In short, growth comes from what we are able to overcome, and what better example of this than the fleeing of the slaves from Egypt, which begins in this week’s Torah portion, Bo.
G-d sends the last three plagues to the land of Egypt, and finally, Pharaoh agrees to free the Jews. They leave in haste – so quickly that they eat unleavened bread, unable to wait for it to rise.
When the Jews had fled, Moses spoke to the Israelites, saying:
“Remember this day, when you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for with a mighty hand, the Lord took you out of here, and therefore no leaven shall be eaten…And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘Because of this, the Lord did this for me when I went out of Egypt.’ And it shall be to you as a sign upon your hand and as a remembrance between your eyes . . . And you shall keep this statute at its appointed time, from year to year (Exodus 13:3-10).”
Obviously, the year-to-year occasion at which we keep this statute is the holiday of Passover. We eat maror to remind us of the clay that the slaves used, and we dip parsley in salt water to remind us of the tears that they shed. But such unpalatable cuisine begs the question:
Why does G-d want to take us back to that place, that story of slavery and degradation, every year? Why must we remember?
There are many reasons, and some are evident. We remember so that we may thank G-d; we remember so that we may be grateful of the life we have; and we remember so that we may believe in all the miracles that G-d performed.
I think, though, that there is a logic that gets overlooked: We remember tragedy so that we can look at our lives now and understand that it’s possible to overcome even the greatest challenges.
It’s difficult to be upset with the past if you’re content with your present, considering all that you did led you to where you are. It’s like G-d is saying, “Your people were once slaves, and now you are a success. Therefore, understand that any strife you encounter may also lead to peace.”
Rachel LaVictoire (rlavictoire@wustl.edu) is a graduate of the Davis Academy and Westminster High School, recipient of the prestigious Nemerov Writing and Thomas H. Elliott Merit scholarships at Washington University of St. Louis and an active member of Temple Emanu-El and the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta.
comments