Ironies of Reality

It's funny how life is. Not in a funny way but an ironic one.

One minute you're contemplating the joys and the excitements of life and the next your reality is shaken, twisted and warped down to earth, to pain, to sorrow. It is so easy to critique life as a third party, a mere observer. Constantly we are judging people around us. People who are different from us, who dress different, talk different or just walk past us. We think to ourselves, why is that person the way that they are, why aren't they "normal," without any consideration or thought of their life, their experiences, their trials. We don't know what is happening in the life of that individual nor the life of his loved ones. We can not understand nor fathom the way they were raised or the feelings they hold. We are oblivious to their difficulties and hardships. As a missionary it was easy to assure people that things were going to be okay, that God's plan had a specific place for them and there was a reason for their heartache; however, when death is on your doorstep and the situation has become personal, it takes a lot more faith to believe in those underlying characteristics of the gospel. Although life is disconcerting there is an assurance in the gospel, in the plan of salvation. Although death is frightening, the only thing we can do is hope for the truth, hope that our faith is correct. Luckily we can receive reassurance of our faith and beliefs through the Holy Ghost. Another irony in life is reality itself.

Reality seems only to be fantasy until the moment you decide to acknowledge the truth. The moment your lips utter the words, fantasy warps to reality. Maybe that is why it's hard to express feelings. When you express your feelings, you commit to the notion, your freedom ceases and you are trapped, held to those words. Maybe that is why bearing testimony is so powerful and crucial. Spoken words solidify reasoning and reality. Another irony is found in the wickedness of the world and in the calamities of life.

From the mountains looking down, people appear as ants, peaceful and carefree. It is shocking to even think that horrific things are currently happening. Death, murder, robbery, rape are all happening amongst ourselves, in our country, in our city, in our community. Often we think we are the only ones suffering or experiencing heartache. Amongst the hundreds and thousands of people with whom we live, we have the audacity to believe we have it rough. However, as stated before, life is easy as an observer. Hopefully, we can have a better appreciation for others, looking for their best and trying to understand their faults.

It is also ironic that when something goes wrong, it seems worse when we don't have any control of the outcome. Life sucks when we do stupid things and we receive the unpleasant consequences but we cope with our poor decisions; however it seems exponentially worse when you have absolutely no control over the outcome. In theory it seems that this should be reversed. If we screw something up, it seems like it should be worse but I disagree. Although I regret my mistakes, I at least have a reason for the repugnant outcomes. On the other hand when horrific things happen that are outside of our control, we have no 'reason' for the heartache. We can't look back and say well that was my fault and now I'm paying for it. It is soo much harder to pay for something we didn't deserve. My only other thoughts on this topic are directed to the Savior and a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He said "salvation never was easy," the Savior had to descent below all and nothing can be deemed unfair in comparison to the Savior's life and death.