Week Fourteen

"But I think diseases have no eyes. They pick with a dizzy finger anyone, just anyone." (The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros, 59)

The House on Mango Street pulled on my heartstrings from page one. And it never let up. Page after page, my heart ached for Esperanza and her situation. That's why I chose this quote to discuss this week. In my interpretation of this text, I feel that "diseases" can be replaced with "trials." Surely Esperanza knows what it's like to face trials that were not of her own choosing. And why does she have to face these trials, such as living in a house she hates, being surrounded by people who she can't help or change, and being abused by those she thought she could trust?

Because trials have no eyes. Sometimes our trials come from poor choices we make. But most times, they come unexpectedly and unwelcome. A family from my ward back home just lost their father and their brother in an airplane accident. Why does this family have to go through that trial? It's not because of something they did or didn't do. It's just part of the human experience. As hard as it is to think about, trials are for our good. Without these experiences, we would not have a chance to grow and become refined. 

Check out this video. Your trials might not be the same, but I'm going to assume that you can relate in some way to this situation.

I honestly have no idea what it's like to be an immigrant or part of that kind of community, like in The House on Mango Street. I don't know what trials people like Esperanza have to go through on a daily basis. But I have trials of my own- and you have trials of your own- and we're all just trying to get through it together. Maybe the really hard trial you're having right now will one day help you to relate to someone better in the future.

We just have to trust the Lord. He knows what He's doing.

Week Ten

"He stopped before the canopy adorned with his coat of arms. Two crowned lions upheld a shield displaying a crowned phoenix, with a device reading I rise from my ashes." (The Kingdom of This World, Alejo Carpentier, 140)

This is concept art of Fawkes the phoenix from Harry Potter. Since reading those books, I have been intrigued by the phoenix. Although I know it's a mythical creature, I find the concept of rebirth comforting. 

In my last post, I referenced the passage from The Kingdom of This World where Macandal is tossed into the fire. Although his followers believed that he escaped the fire by turning into another creature- in a sense, rising from the ashes- the reality is something quite different. Macandal's experience is not like our own though. We get tossed into fires on a frequent basis. These fires may come in the form of school, work, family issues, relationship problems, illness, and anything else that causes us stress. But unlike Macandal, we can actually rise from the ashes of these fires. 

We go through trials and tests that sometimes seem too hard to bear. Even small trials can be difficult to get through. Like the phoenix, though, we can get roughed up from these trials to the point that we figuratively burst into flames. We yell at our roommates because we are so tired of them not washing the dishes. Or we get so mad about a failed test that we can't forgive ourselves for not studying harder or paying more attention in class. Or we break down because we just can't fight with a friend anymore.

But then, after our moment (or moments) of weakness in whatever form it takes, we rise from the ashes. We find that we've grown and that we are stronger than before. It wasn't easy, but nothing in life is. 

I would say that this is a subtle, but recurring, theme in The Kingdom of This World.

Do you have any experiences where you've had the chance to rise from the ashes?