The Glory of Suffering

There are days the sun rises only to watch you fall.

You know those times, when you are in the middle of the ocean and cruel waves are hitting you again and again, making you weaker each time. You stare blankly at your cup of tea, now cold and untouched. You reread the same page for the fifth or tenth time.

What should we do at those times? Sit back and wait for it to pass, accept life as it is, and as it will always be? Or should we resist? This is a genuine question from me to my readers. Old to young, no “social class” matters (if it exists in a way we normalized today). I think humans exist to suffer for 70% of their average lifetime. This is why we value good times, happy and relaxed days, and our time with loved ones. We also value art that brings our soul peace and laughter. Obviously, this is common sense; we already know that. But what if our down moments are more valuable?

And for the horrible, down days, I have a name: “the glory of suffering.”

I do not know about you, dear reader, but it visits me often. It might come by as stillness, not wanting to do anything. The other, more “Kafka” or “Dostoyevski” version is almost the same, with a little bit of glitter. This is the bittersweetness of productivity. Mind full of thoughts, empathy. However, this time it is pushing me to create something, be someone, and think deeper. 

This is when “stay in bed” inspiration comes to me, and apparently Tracey Emin was on the same page in 1998 while creating “my bed”. Her work received a lot of criticism, people said everyone’s messy bed when they are in depression looks like this, and they could have put all this together to present it too. Unlikely, I don't think so, she answered these critics by saying, “Well, they didn’t, did they?”  She broke up with her boyfriend back in the day, had depression, and used that depression to create something that a lot of people can relate to. No person doesn’t suffer from life, even the biggest heroes from ancient literature.

My Bed is a sculpture by the English artist Tracey Emin- First created in 1998.

An unseen mentor of mine — I am sure none of you met someone like him yet, only if you are as lucky as I am — dragged me into the mystery of the Odyssey, after a very long time. This proem fed me with something more this time, now with a different perspective and a world-seen attitude.Odysseus, the man who suffers, as we can also call πολύτλας (long suffering). He “suffers many pains down his spirit,” as Homer says in the proem. 

Maybe it was so great because we all found a piece from our most private emotions, relate to them, get inspired with the pain, even produce thoughts (it doesn’t matter if we use this productivity for a sculpture or an easy idea belongs to ourselves) and maybe this is why we are talking about tragedy more than anything. 

That’s what Homer knew, probably laughing at us from wherever ancient poets go.

And honestly? I think I’m finally starting to get it, too.