The Great Equaliser

"What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him." - Victor Frankl

I've been catching up on blogs, facebook, etc, and apparently there's been some interesting debates taking place while I've been gone. The word suffering sprang to mind, because something I've noticed and I've been contemplating about is, that regardless of our backgrounds, race, colour, creed or standing in society, we all will pretty much at some stage in our lives suffer in some way, shape or form. Some people seem to suffer more or less, depending on the event/s or circumstances, however, we will all experience this throughout our lives. That's why I believe that Suffering is the great equaliser.

During my time in Kapooka, we all experienced what I call universal suffering. It was interesting to read and hear about some recruits' particular experiences, and that everybody was suffering to some degree...some more quietly than others. It was that fact that everybody was suffering together, that gave us as a 'group', the will and determination to persevere.

It was also interesting to see different personalities at play, and people's weaknesses (as well as strengths). Some people's weaknesses were made more apparent than others, and therefore they were made subject to more ridicule, by fellow recruits as well as platoon staff.

There was a lot of judgement taking place, and again, an interesting observation - the strongest judgements were held by the youngest members of the platoon. The older, more mature members (mostly) went about their actions quietly and with much less fuss. It brings to mind a saying by Lao Tsu..."he who knows does not speak, he who speaks does not know". As one of the mature (he..he..he..) members of the platoon it was a revelation to find that as I get older, that I am becoming less judgemental of people and more accepting and curious of their individual lives and consequences. It doesn't mean I don't judge, just that it's happening less and less.

However, the most interesting development, especially in the last days of the course and since returning, was the transition from non-acceptance to one of acceptance of fellow recruits. In the end, regardless of who you are as a person and your perceived weaknesses, you can't take away that experience of universal suffering, and you can not help but empathise with the struggle of persevering.

Which brings me to my observations in blogland...the tension that sometimes seems apparent is actually necessary and healthy. That tension I believe to some degree, is the striving and struggling in our lives for the "call of potential meaning, waiting to be fulfilled". And unless we've experienced the struggles, how are we to know what we are capable of; what our call of potential is, and whether our lives are genuinely fulfilling?

Does it really matter what the next person does, or how and what they experience, and that their experience is different to ours?....because in the end, that's all it is...different. And allowing ourselves to empathise and connect with another's point of view, another person's striving, struggling, differences, weaknesses and strengths, allows us to grow and experience life in a richer, more meaningful and vivid sense, and makes us more complete as human beings. However in saying that, I must emphasise that what people do should also be tempered with a sense of what is right and wrong.