Wendy is Wide Awake and Wondering

A reflective but pragmatic friend of mine (Wendy – that’s her real name) wrote this on her Facebook status:

Wide awake.. Wondering.. What's it all about?? Knowing.. There must be more than this.. Feeling.. This is not how it was meant to be.. Considering.. The real next step.. Contemplating.. The options.. Presenting... The evidence.. Understanding... The impact.. Talking.. In riddles.. Concluding.. It's not that simple!!

I was struck by its simplicity and depth – it struck a chord with me and I wanted to write a blog post about it - she kindly agreed.

Yes, I sometimes lie awake at night wondering. We all must ask, sometime in our life, those big questions whose answers seem as elusive as the sleep that escapes us. The questions usually go along the lines of... Why...? What if...? How...? They are deep, penetrating, angst-ridden and they generally spiral out of seeming nothingness to fill a planet-sized vacuum in our heads that we didn’t know existed – like gas molecules set loose in the universe, they occupy every nook and cranny of our mind so that no other thought gets a look-in.

And I’m sure it’s not age-related or symptomatic of a mid-life crisis: I was asking big questions when I was considerably younger than I am now and I don’t think I really have satisfactory answers because the questions keep re-surfacing.

To be honest, though, I think it’s healthy. Asking questions, I mean. Asking questions demonstrates the rational side of our being: the bit of us that doesn’t operate by instinct but, instead, demands answers and explanations and solutions. However, the frustrating thing is that those answers generally don’t present themselves as easily as the questions themselves do. Which is why the latter keep bubbling away on the back-burner of our mind, constantly popping up at the most inconvenient moments - demanding our attention and having no sympathy for our sleep-deprivation.

That’s why there are philosophers and scientists and mathematicians and historians and explorers and inventors and writers and theologians – because they’re asking fundamental questions. They’re all on a quest for answers – to make life make sense, to make sense of the pain, the anguish, the suffering, the mistakes, the unknown quantities of human existence.

And Wendy is one of them.

‘There must be more than this... this is not how it was meant to be.’

And, yes, it really is not that simple!

I came across a quote today by Jean Paul Richter:

‘Joys are our wings, sorrows our spurs.’

So many wish that life was less characterised by pain, suffering, mistakes and failure and yet it is those experiences that really teach us the wisdom we need to manage our lives better and to teach others. Countless other thinkers have come up with similar truisms:

‘What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.' (Friedrich Nietzsche)

'Life is more tragic than orderly.' (Oswald Chambers)

'Every cloud has a silver lining.' (traditional English idiom)

'If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t make anything.' (unknown)

Even Saint Paul in the New Testament of the Bible states in his letter to the Roman Christians:

'We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character; and character, hope.'
(Romans chapter 5 verses 3 & 4)

Like a curious six-year-old constantly asking ‘Why?’, questions expand our mind and make us more aware of possibilities and solutions – but that creates yet questions. All of this unleashes the unique imagination and creativity that is characteristic of the human animal – but it brings the added conundrum that we are constantly dissatisfied, constantly seeking to improve ourselves, our community, our world.

Yes, these questions keep us awake at night but they also get us out of bed in the morning and cause us to work for a better experience of our world – and a better future for our descendants.

I think I'd go as far as to say that anyone who is NOT perplexed by such questions is probably in danger of a dangerously complacent existence and is actually missing out on a lot that life has to offer and the wisdom that comes with reflecting on life's experiences.

So, keep asking questions, keep trying to make sense of what seems to defy explanation and watch the threads tie, untie and tie again, one at a time. Reasoning and questioning is a God-given gift: we may not see the answers now but future generations will think better because we asked better questions.

What do you think?

What questions are you asking?

Please leave a comment - especially if your name is Wendy!