Jorge Luis Borges once said, “A writer—and, I believe, generally all persons—must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource… All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.”
And Borges would certainly know. One of the most celebrated figures in Spanish literature, the Argentinian poet, short story writer, and essayist lost his eyesight at the age of 55 due to a hereditary condition. While his eyesight had been declining steadily for years, complete blindness found him just as he was appointed the Director of the National Library of Argentina. Instead of stepping down or giving up, he relied on oral storytelling and strengthening his memory. As a result, his own writing became even more poetic, refined, and filled with deep philosophical meditations on time, infinity, and identity.
Such a profound example of making art out of lives by allowing our challenges to transform us.
Everything, every experience we have—the good, the bad, the breathtaking, and the brutal—exists not just as a random occurrence but as a stream of opportunities to grow. We often think of our joys and successes as the building blocks of a good life, but what about our heartbreaks? Our failures? The moments that leave us breathless with grief?
The truth is, those moments shape us just as much, if not more.
It’s easy to look back on happy moments—the times when life unfolded effortlessly—and see them as gifts. But what if we also saw the disappointments, the heartbreaks, the humiliations as gifts, too? What if we stopped labeling experiences as “good” or “bad” and instead considered them all necessary strokes in the creation of our most fulfilled life?
Think about your favorite book, film, or piece of music. Would it move you as deeply if there were no struggle, no conflict, no tension? Would the most beautiful songs exist without the pain that inspired them? The same is true for our lives. Every mistake, every heartbreak, every challenge gives us something—insight, resilience, compassion, wisdom. Nothing is wasted. Even the things we wish had never happened become part of our unique story, part of the intricate and irreplaceable tapestry of who we are.
My mother-in-law, kabbalist Karen Berg, once said, “The only thing in this Universe that does not diminish is energy. In its raw form, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Whatever we put out in terms of energy is what we can receive back.” In other words, nothing—even our perceived mistakes, regrets, or failures—has been energy wasted. The challenges we face help us to transform and elevate.
A rejection can teach us perseverance.
A failure can lead us toward a path that is truly meant for us.
A loss can deepen our capacity for love.
We can spend our entire lives doing what’s natural and comfortable for us and, at the end of this relatively pain-free life, we’ll think that we’ve accomplished great things. But kabbalists teach that this is an illusion. A desire to reach the end of our lives unscathed is the antithesis of our purpose in the world. We were designed to go against our nature, to bust through our comfort zones, and to live and give in extraordinary ways.
What if, when faced with difficulty, we asked:
What can I learn from this?
What strength is this revealing in me?
How can I use this to become more of who I am meant to be?
Because in the end, we are not just living our lives—we are growing and evolving our souls. We are alchemizing our experiences, transmuting negativity into positivity. It’s an art form. And just like the most breathtaking paintings, the most moving stories, and the most unforgettable songs, our lives are made all the more beautiful by their depth, complexity, and contrast.
The kabbalists teach that we came to this world to transform, and when we transform a difficult experience into something remarkable, we transform our lives. When we transform our lives, we elevate our souls. And as we take on this soul transformation, we assist in elevating the entire world.
No comments:
Post a Comment