ίσιος δρόμος - the straight road
Just a few words that popped up in a (Greek) film I watched last night that brought a few thoughts to mind. A straight road is the most efficient way of travel, or 'as the crow flies' as we say in the UK. That is fine for travel purposes, but, in life, few of us travel a straight road, even if we intend to. Most of us encounter bends and diversions along the way; some we enjoy while others may be very challenging.
Sometimes, when something bad, especially, happens, we might ask why God might allow it to do so. Usually though, we probably don't credit the good things that happen to us as God's work, but more usually our own talents etc. Gratitude isn't something that usually happens at these times!
Perhaps it is the nature of society these days, that we tend to look at, or even for, the negatives in this world. Let's be honest, listening to the news doesn't exactly help, while also perhaps 'hardening' us to the sufferings around the world.
There is no real immediate solution to this. Not a single one of us can wave a magic wand and everything will be alright with the world. You might argue that God could do this, but the reality is that most suffering is caused either directly, or indirectly by humans, and until we change, that will continue.
For those that argue that God should intervene, that would mean him 'controlling' our thoughts and I'm sure that we all value our 'free will' very highly indeed.
It is said that God works in mysterious ways, and the fact remains that we can't possibly understand who or what God is and this is where faith comes into its own.
In the meantime, our lives will inevitably take all sorts of turns over the years, and all we can do is to live in the moment and do what we can, praying silently to God to guide us as we do.
Writing this reminded me of a poem by a Turkish Poet called Feyyaz Fergar, from his booklet 'A talent for shrouds' so I thought I would share it below.
Corners
To the memory of Philip Larkin
No, I don't want to stop yet,
I want to see what lives and lurks round that corner
And the one next to it.
Corners are what keeps us guessing and going,
They set us the task of unravelling
The slippery cypher of our days.
A straight road
Would be a fatal shortcoming.