Nobel Laureates

I admire Mother Teresa, but not for the reasons most people would likely assume. In her book, Come Be My Light, Mother Teresa confessed her suffocating depression towards the end of her life. 

 

I am sorry I told you not to come – but really it is not worth it, as my soul is just like an ice block. I have nothing to say. You say He is “so close that you neither see nor hear Him, not even taste His presence.” I don’t understand this, Father, and yet I wish I could understand it. I don’t know what it really happening to me – for even now when I am surrounded with so many nuns and people, with things that could preoccupy me completely – Father, my mind, my heart, my very thoughts and feelings seem so very far – so far that I don’t know where they are. 

If you ask me, this is a clear sign of depression. Although I have never encountered such depths of despair, I am no stranger to the abysmal feeling of emptiness. What I find incredibly inspiring about Mother Teresa is her devotion, faith, and courage to march forward even under the asphyxiating weight of her depression.

Though she no longer felt Jesus’ presence she “would not miss Holy Communion for anything.” 
 

That, my friends, is what inspires me to rise above the piddly vagaries of my life. I don’t know who is reading this, but know this – you are stronger than you can possibly imagine and can overcome whatever trouble you’re facing today. 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
 

-    Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

 

In response to Mother Teresa’s correspondence, Father Neuner did something very profound – instead of avoiding the darkness, he recommended Mother Teresa to embrace it. 
 

She had so progressed in that love that she could rise above the fear of suffering: “now I embrace the suffering even before it comes.
 

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In the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, the author poignantly describes an analogous situation where Professor Morrie conveys the value of embracing undesirable conditions. 

Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you are able to leave it.

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I came across this book in college and was able to apply its lesson on one fateful day. I was visiting my friend (who shall remain nameless) in NYC. Although it wasn’t my first time visiting the city, I was filled with metropolitan hopes and dreams. Unfortunately, my friend had other ideas.

 

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You see, he had gone through a horrendous, miserable breakup. I shall spare you the details, but he literally cried all weekend long. My hope of enjoying the world’s greatest city was completely shattered, but I felt it was my duty to console and assuage him (well, we did have good food on the last day of my visit). 

Anyhow, back to the story. On that fateful Saturday evening, I told him to stop fighting against the pain; but rather, to allow that pain fully penetrate him. I had just finished Tuesdays with Morrie and I offered him my best fresh-from-the-oven advice.