Turbulence Will Cleanse You
Pessimism is simply the wear and tear of turbulence on the human soul.
A few months ago, while doing some laundry, I stood idly and peered through the translucent glass of the washer. As I watched my blanket turn lazily in the soapy water, I had a sudden flashback to my days in architecture school.
For reasons unknown to me, the definition of a toilet stood in my mind like a King’s guard in Buckingham Palace.
“A toilet is a fitting that eliminates waste by turbulence.” This same principle is what a washing machine uses to cleanse garments. Then it occurred to me what washing machines, toilets, and the human condition all have in common: Turbulence.
Turbulence is simply a violent shaking of water, air… and humans. In this context, it is any potentially life-altering (or threatening) occurrence that seeks to reveal who we are and what we believe.
Turbulence goes by many names: stress, downtime, wilderness experience, tragedy, heartbreak, etc. Depending on your age, everyone has had (or will have) a period of immense stress. Either emotional, physical, professional or otherwise.
In contemplating the nature of this phenomenon, here are three conclusions I came to on turbulence:
Turbulence Reveals
There is a revelatory aspect to turbulence. It reveals intent. It is what shakes the temporal, leaving behind only the things that matter. Just like earthquakes reveal a building’s resistance to stress or a turbulent flight makes the atheist call out to God.
Turbulence has a way of exposing hidden fears, unresolved trauma, and unaddressed character flaws to you and others.
Turbulence tests anything of substance, such as friendship, trust, love, and devotion. It reveals one's ability to keep one's head in the midst of a storm, and this revelation eventually binds people together.
Turbulence Cleanses
It is quite ironic when people ask why God allows bad things to happen in the world. Apart from the fact that humans have an uncanny ability to bring evil upon themselves by their ignorance and malevolence, turbulence is known to refine.
Loss, pain, and other forms of reality check strips us of the many temporary things that we distract ourselves with. In the face of real-life challenges, opinions, followers count, and account balance pale into insignificance.
What we’re left with is our bare selves and our contemplation of the true nature of existence. It slows us down in a fast-moving world and gives us the rare gift of introspection. This is probably why people get highly philosophical at their lowest point.
Turbulence Breaks
In a world of comfort and relative peace, humans have become oblivious to our brittleness. Sometimes, it takes a major occurrence (like a pandemic or loss) to realize that our strength is somewhat like chinaware. You often find that a ceramic container that can absorb incredibly high temperatures breaks when it hits the floor.
We ought to be aware of our propensity to break, and sometimes tragedy has the ability to break us.
Make no mistake: turbulence can have dire effects, such as traumas, phobias, and even death. Whether you break or not depends on a combination of factors — some of which are out of your control.
This is why people tend to become pessimistic as they grow older. Pessimism is simply the wear and tear of turbulence on the human soul, leaving the person unmotivated, injured, and sometimes defeated. People find it hard to try because of the catastrophic impact of failure.
What to do about turbulence?
There are a thousand and one pieces of advice to give on navigating turbulence, but I offer two:
- If you’re going through turbulence, simply go through it.
The more grace you are able to muster during turbulence, the less catastrophic it will be. Sometimes, there’s nothing else to go through.
You’re either going through a lot or coming from a lot. Don’t get stuck halfway. That’s how people collapse.
2. Find something durable to hold on to.
We have established that humans are not as durable as we think, so find something more durable than yourself to hold on to. Most things are survivable if you have something to hold onto.
God, family, or a group of friends could act as a strong anchor during turbulence.
In the final analysis, here is a Benjamin Franklin’s quote I stumbled upon a few days ago:
Benjamin Franklin summarizes this when he said:
“The things that hurt, instruct.”
Till next time,
Stay alive.
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