Press "Enter" to skip to content

Why None of Us Can Escape Catastrophe


we may not think of it in quite such
naive terms but we are liable to start
out somewhere in a semi-conscious mind
with a script of how our lives might go
first we’ll come education with its deep
friendships moments of intoxicating
self-discovery tender first loves and
appoints sheer riotous good fun then
will come a career something that pays
but won’t be done merely for money will
be competent respectable and fairly
honored for the intensity of our efforts
alongside it will come a central
relationship probably a marriage the
union will last forever
and be marked by mutual satisfaction
sincere friendship and frequent
passionate sex there’ll be kids too
offering us a chance to nurture a
grateful adorable small person the best
of its two parents whom we’ll watch grow
into an admirable motivated adult with
advances in science we will lead an
active and pain-free life mentally and
physically healthy into our early 80s at
least our parents will themselves have
died at an advanced age and when the
time comes for us the end will be swift
and painless this is more or less the
kind of script were handed by a
technologically advanced secular
consumer society and it’s no wonder that
in many moods we should want to cleave
to it and trust it wholeheartedly but
the truth never asserted as a general
rule never insisted upon in tones of
suitable melancholy solemnity is that no
one gets through their allotted span on
earth without a major off-script event
something somewhere is going to go
catastrophic ly wrong not potentially or
incidentally but necessarily because of
the structure of human existence and of
our appalling exposure to error accident
madness disgrace and illness
someone very important to us will die long before they should in horrific and
long before they should in horrific and entirely unexpected circumstances Oh
entirely unexpected circumstances Oh will suffer a significant reversal in
will suffer a significant reversal in professional life probably triggered by
professional life probably triggered by a fully on our part an entrenched
a fully on our part an entrenched character flaw or just a collision with
character flaw or just a collision with one of the very sharp edges of the
one of the very sharp edges of the business cycle or a central relationship
business cycle or a central relationship will go wrong a child will develop a
will go wrong a child will develop a major grievance someone whom we
major grievance someone whom we entrusted entirely will betray all the
entrusted entirely will betray all the hopes we’d lodged in them illness and
hopes we’d lodged in them illness and death will strike from the blue a stroke
death will strike from the blue a stroke on the airport concourse cancerous cells
on the airport concourse cancerous cells in an unfeasibly young body a hemorrhage
in an unfeasibly young body a hemorrhage that came at least twenty years too soon
that came at least twenty years too soon the permutations are as endless as they
the permutations are as endless as they are ghastly we cannot know what it will
are ghastly we cannot know what it will be exactly what is certain is that it
be exactly what is certain is that it will be something an event committed ly
will be something an event committed ly disastrous in nature that will stop us
disastrous in nature that will stop us in our tracks make us question every
in our tracks make us question every resilient assumption and break our
resilient assumption and break our hearts the only guarantee is that we
hearts the only guarantee is that we will not exit this life without a
will not exit this life without a calamity if there is any defense or
calamity if there is any defense or consolation to be found it lies of
consolation to be found it lies of course in knowing the fact head-on and
course in knowing the fact head-on and preparing for it assiduously in a
preparing for it assiduously in a quieter stretches to philosophize is to
quieter stretches to philosophize is to learn to die new the French philosopher
learn to die new the French philosopher Montaigne and he might have added to be
Montaigne and he might have added to be more all-encompassing to suffer to
more all-encompassing to suffer to expecting the unexpected horror is the
expecting the unexpected horror is the one move we can make to insulate
one move we can make to insulate ourselves a little from the vengefulness
ourselves a little from the vengefulness and wickedness of fortune we know that
and wickedness of fortune we know that something will come and when it happens
something will come and when it happens we shouldn’t feel especially cursed our
we shouldn’t feel especially cursed our lives may appear to have gone off script
lives may appear to have gone off script but that’s only because the script we
but that’s only because the script we were holding to was a sentimental lie we
were holding to was a sentimental lie we are in fact following the path that all
are in fact following the path that all humans must walk we should never feel
humans must walk we should never feel persecuted for falling victim to what is
persecuted for falling victim to what is the repressed yet general truth it is at
the repressed yet general truth it is at least on the basis of off-script events
least on the basis of off-script events that we can develop our deep
that we can develop our deep friendships surrender our
friendships surrender our self-righteousness acquire the right
self-righteousness acquire the right kind of gallows humor and grow up newly
kind of gallows humor and grow up newly aware of the ubiquity of random
aware of the ubiquity of random disasters we can start to appreciate the
disasters we can start to appreciate the bits of our lives that are on script we
bits of our lives that are on script we can know just how much to cherish those
can know just how much to cherish those quiet days in which nothing much has yet
quiet days in which nothing much has yet gone very wrong and when the off-script
gone very wrong and when the off-script event comes we can at least say that we
event comes we can at least say that we knew and realized a while back that this
knew and realized a while back that this is just what it means to be human
our resilience cards are designed to help us become tougher in the face of
help us become tougher in the face of adversity to learn more follow the link
adversity to learn more follow the link on screen now
Please follow and like us: