The Things We Don't Say
Exactly two weeks ago, I read this moving post by @JacqueNdinda. It made me both very sad and livid to no end, and I said as such.
The fact that sexual offences continue to happen to people around us is a pointer to bigger ills in our society. What I find especially worrying about these types of crimes is that the victims are adversely affected for the rest of their lives.
Screw Fear
Back in April 2009, I wrote about the need to overcome fear and doubt in discovering our inner potential. What may not be apparent in that post is the undeniable fact that doing so is never easy.
Sometimes, the circumstances behind that fear may seemingly be out of control.
Yesterday, I visited Faith*. At one point during my stay, she confided that she was recently raped by someone known to her. The trauma has so far made her fearful of men, even those in her family.
I was so taken aback my the pain in her voice and written all over her face, largely because sexual abuse had prior to yesterday, never happened to someone I knew really well. It was always another girl, another lady, another elderly woman, another baby - but never a person close to me.
Cries From the Heart
In his book Cries from the Heart
, Johann Christoph Arnold addresses those who struggle in their search for hope and meaning in life. Individual chapters focus on many of life's situations such as emotional suffering, despair, illness, remorse, unanswered prayers etc [see a chapter listing in our blog post].While some seek understanding in the sciences, technology and varied belief systems, others search within. Still, others seek answers from the supernatural or from a higher power. All these are Cries from the Heart which have continued since time began.Drained
The search for meaning can at times wear someone down, and the frustrations of elusive meaning and delayed solutions make him/her feel drained
.At this point, one wants more.
Thankfully, someone has written a book that features stories of people who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds and emerged victorious.
All in all, opening up provides a way to start facing and overcoming one's fears. And better still, when in the company of those who can help, and upon reading stories of others who struggled and eventually overcame, it becomes much easier to endure the pain, to have hope, to unrelentingly struggle, and to eventually make it on the other end - victorious.
*name changed to maintain her anonymity. Read more about: Books Worth Reading, cries from the heart, drained, hope, Johanne Christoph Arnold, pain, sexual abuse, struggle
