Rock Bottom

JK Rowling, in her 2008 Harvard University commencement speech, said the following about failure:

"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. 

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default." *

I think everyone reading this post has experienced failure in his life; in fact, I almost hope that you, dear reader, have had your share of failure. As a society, we value success so much, which is not in itself a bad thing at all. But, as I'm sure my fellow sons and daughters of Egyptian immigrants can attest to, from a young age I have been taught that hard work, diligence, and prayer is the infallible recipe for success, and as long as I stick to that, I will always have "good" things at the end of my road. Having experienced quite a few failures in quick succession over the past few months, I almost wish someone had taught me how to be ready for failure, how to thank God for it, and how to transform it into a chance for growth.

CS Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."** I cannot pretend to know the reason behind every single failure in my life. Surely, most have been due to my own stupidity. Perhaps some have been due to the shortcomings of those around me. And maybe some have been God's way of turning my feet back towards Him, after I consistently ignored His gentle tugs at my back. Sometimes God strips away relationships and denies us opportunities because it is the only way we will be able to see the gaping holes in our spiritual lives. Gaping holes are scary. I'd rather have the hard failures if it means I'm walking on solid ground.

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*You can read the full transcript of Rowling's speech and watch the video here.

**This quote is taken from The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis.