Shipwreck

photo: Cobus Botes

for Sunday Scribblings

Why was that woman crying? (See Despair, August 21.) What happened? Did she find out someone had died? Did her boyfriend break up with her? Is she coping with a life threatening illness? Fortunately, I’ve been very lucky and blessed in my life. What I recognized on her face, her sorrow, is something I’ve felt only when hurt by someone I cared deeply about. It’s the feeling of panic, when you can’t really breathe steady, when you can’t even imagine staying afloat again. Sometimes the damage is irreparable, sometimes a temporary patch does the trick, and at others you just have to keep bailing until you reach shore. Of course, though it’s hard to recognize the value of this at the time you’re going down, we grow the most when the ship needs a complete overhaul. Also, others can learn from our mistakes, and in fact new life develops and is sustained by the wrecks we leave behind.