(5 minute read)

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“Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!”

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis CarrolL, Macmillan Publishing, 1865

You may believe that Carroll’s novel is meant to poke the eye of an elite society. Alternatively, it could be seen as a map for children to navigate living in a grownup’s world. Regardless, Alice has captured the imagination of generations.

There are two themes that are undeniably woven throughout, 1. the dogged curiosity about the world in which Alice was living and 2. self-discovery or how she fit into that world.

“Who in the world am I?”

While searching for an answer Alice experiences physical, emotional, and mental changes. Like the speed of a comet hurtling towards the earth Alice is rapidly changing …and it is not easy.

The adventures Alice experiences are at times puzzling. The symbolism found throughout Alice leaves a lot to the imagination. Many volumes have been written to interpret Carroll’s work. Perhaps what makes it so memorable is its ability to be internalized. Like all good works of fiction, we experience Alice’s journey right alongside her.

The experience of reading the novel as a child pales in comparison to engaging with it as an adult. There is an uneasiness that one feels as she encounters some unsettling people and circumstances. Carroll creates a tension between the thrill of experiencing new things and the terror they bring. This (either intentionally or not) leaves the reader with a sense of uneasiness. There are times when she is clearly stupefied and suffering and we are right there stupefied and suffering with her.

Where Would I Be Without Suffering?

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky

Imagine all the people
Livin’ for today

Imagine, John Lennon, 1971

Maybe THE most well known John Lennon song is Imagine. Despite its sentiment and popularity it’s really not one of his best. During the pandemic the song came into a bit of controversy after going viral on social media.

Well, to be precise it wasn’t the song that caused the controversy. It was the way in which it was produced, packaged, and sent out into the world. For a song that inspired generations, it did not go well. We’ll leave it at that.

Lennon released the song in the Fall of 1971. I had just turned 11. The song was one of a growing number of “social justice” songs. These songs came from artists I admired. They challenged a society willing to forget about the displaced, unempowered, fringed, and disenfranchised.

These songs highlighted those in our society who were suffering. The artists admonished the world to change. Internalized, the music provided hope and the lens that I would use to view the world.

The songs were myriad.

• Barry McGuire – Eve Of Destruction
• Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young – Ohio
• Dion – Abraham, Martin, And John
• Edwin Starr – War
• Elvis Presley – In The Ghetto
• Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On/Mercy Mercy Me
• Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky
• Plastic Ono Band – Give Peace a Chance
• Respect – Aretha Franklin
• The Temptations – Ball of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today)
• The Youngbloods – Get Together

And so these songs became part of my DNA and were the building blocks that cemented my character and values. They seeped into my consciousness and helped me to eventually formulate a personal solution to suffering.

Suffering Is Inevitable

“Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering…”

1st Noble Truth, Buddhism

“To perceive is to suffer.”

Aristotle

“I have received no assurance that anything we can do will eradicate suffering.”

C.S. Lewis, The Weight OF Glory, HarperOne, 2015

“Suffering that is not understood is hard to bear, while on the other hand, it is often astounding to see how much a person can endure when he understands the why and wherefore.”

Carl Jung, “The Symbolic Life,” Princeton University Press, 1976

“Modern societies are very differentiated universes and one is never where one would like to be. This produces a great deal of suffering which we don’t take seriously and which unleashes other suffering.”

Pierre Bourdieu, The Weight of the WorlD, Stanford University Press, 2000

Studying religions, philosophy, psychology, sociology, the humanities, history, or the sciences, one learns the first lesson; there is suffering. While it is a subjective experience, one person’s suffering will pale in comparison to others. No matter how bad we think we are suffering there is one thing we can always be sure. That there is someone, somewhere, who has suffered or are suffering far greater things than you and I ever have.

That’s NOT to say we delight in other people’s suffering.

Yet, it is comforting to know that some people suffer far greater than we ever will. They have survived it and come out the other side whole and fully human. Their testimony is that their suffering made them whom they are.

We would do well to be just as determined.

How much time do we spend trying to avoid suffering? Of course no well adjusted person wishes to be visited by suffering.

What actions do we take? Where do we spend our time, energy, and money avoiding suffering?

See Part 2 of Alice’s Journey