Faith in Times of Crisis
negin October 9th, 2008
That going through the path of life completely carefree, with everything happening as planned and always getting what we want, is impossible, would be something most people agree on. There are few – or I would say no – people that go through life without encountering any kind of hardship or crisis; be it social, economic, spiritual or health-related. However, there seems to be a major difference in how these hardships are met, and more interestingly, how they shape our lives.
Working within health care, this is a matter I come across in some way on an almost daily basis. The definition of “crisis” is of course very broad; death, separation, illness, bankruptcy, violence and betrayal are examples of incidents that cause people to go through a crisis – a turning point in life after which there will be a change. The initial stages of shock and sadness are of course natural and more or less similar for everyone, but when it comes to how people recover and adjust on a longer term, the diversity is striking. Is it just accidental? Or do some people have certain qualities that make them more able to handle hardship?
In psychology, Resilience is one term that is used for defining the ability to recover – or bounce back – from a crisis. A number of studies have been done aimed at finding out what makes a person resilient. Why do some people recover faster than others? And how come some individuals seem to gain strength from and grow through their hardships, while others despair?
Different significant characteristics have been identified in these studies. One of these, that is recurrent, is the value of having faith and an ability to find meaning in life. Anybody working within health care, interacting with patients, would probably recognize this tendency.
Traditionally, people have always turned to religion and faith when facing hardship. However, not all the world’s religions are able to satisfy the modern mind in this regard. Some place sin on the shoulders of the “victim”, as the reason for what has occurred. Others encourage disengagement from all worldly affairs and suggest isolation and/or an ascetic lifestyle to be a model.
From a Baha’i perspective, crisis and suffering is an inescapable part of life. It is not an aim in itself, but a means through which one grows and develops.
The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be.
Beyond just seeing a meaning in the suffering itself, having a faith and holding deep spiritual values also affects how people interpret events and incidents in their environment. Seeing oneself as part of a greater whole, believing in the benefit of striving and, perhaps most importantly, trusting in a Divine Reality, must surely provide a clarity of vision and lend strength in recovering from adversity.
Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you.
Put your whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created you, and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succor cometh from Him alone. He succoreth whom He will with the hosts of the heavens and of the earth…
So even though walking on the path of life without stumbling or falling seems to be impossible, accepting that there are hidden wisdoms in hardships that make them meaningful, and believing in a greater purpose, will give us tools to better handle the obstacles that are bound to appear along the way.
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- Baha'i Concepts , Society
- Comments(5)
Beautifully stroked (to borrow the golf term) and so apropos!
Mahalo Nui Loa!
Dr. Negin thanks for your inspiring perspective on the challenges of day-to-day crises.
Resilience is one of my favourite words and one that has found many applications beyond psychology. Thank you for reminding me of the hidden wisdom which many times lies beyond our understanding of apparent adversities. Adversities which may in fact be blessings in disguise once we comprehend their true purpose, in retrospect.
Very beautiful! And so true. good to be reminded of that, this comes at the right time to me at this moment. Not always easy to stay positive and certain that things will be alright! Yet that is faith and certitude, as Mr Nakhjavani said we should have more than faith in sthg, we should have certitude!
We’re often side-tracked by our own conviction through our natural tendency to look for corroboration: the confirmation bias. Increased awareness of our (often) limited understanding or knowledge of processes leading to what may be termed a crisis would surely allow us to cope better in such circumstances – we would be forced to assume that there is something to learn from the situation, a process of personal progress.
It may be argued that Faith allows people to maximise on the value of the journey rather than being overly concerned about the destination. This may be due to one prerequisite of Faith being that we accept that we do not have complete knowledge and that we don’t always understand the processes we are subjected to – as such we deem to glean what we can and learn from our experiences. My favourite example of such theory in action is best represented by the story of Layli and Majnun. It is an eloquent story that encapsulates these ideas with charged emotion and so with much greater potency than any words of mine can convey.
Thank you for your kind and insightful comments!
Omeed, I think what you bring up is an excellend continuation of this theme. Reflecting on events and circumstances in life with an analytical eye, and also taking into consideration the spiritual dimensions, is key in personal progress. The concept of confirmation is also very interesting in this context – perhaps a theme for an upcoming article
Thank you also for reminding us of the beautiful and immortal story of Leyli and Majnun!