"And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet" (D&C 29:39)
"And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good." (Moses 6:55)
Last night, I went over to a friend's apartment and watched the last half of "Patch Adams," an old Robin Williams movie. One of the scenes really stuck with me (as it was meant to) and I'd like to talk about what I thought of in that moment (if you haven't seen the movie, you ought to watch it before reading this).
It takes place after Carin dies, when Patch, full of grief, goes to stand on the edge of a cliff. In this moment, Patch is on the verge of suicide. He calls out to God, begging for answers and mercy, asking why man must suffer so much pain, why man cannot just be compassionate. Now, throughout the portion of the movie that I'd seen thus far, I'd gotten the impression that life had been good for Patch Adams. It felt as if he'd never had sorrow or cruelty touch his life, in a truly personal way. In this moment, he wasn't sure what to do with all that he felt. Eventually Patch gives up on praying and turns to leave, when he sees, on his bag, a butterfly. This revitalizes Patch, as to him, butterflies are sort of a symbol of hope, as well as a reminder of Carin. He returns to the hospital and begins his work anew.
This scene struck a chord in me. Once, I might've thought it would be nice to live in a world without sorrow or pain, a world of only kindness and love, but at this point in the movie, I realized I no longer believe that to be true. Now I realize that love cannot truly exist, cannot thrive without the opposition of pain and grief. Love is so precious because of the potential for hurt that it brings. I've heard it said that people with depression will laugh louder, smile bigger, and try to make others happier, and I believe it's true. I believe that through their struggles, they have learned how to truly and deeply love. This can also be true for victims of tragedy, as Patch Adams was. Those who see that darkness and choose to move forward with hope become the strongest and most compassionate people. Knowing pain and choosing to love in spite of it results in a deeper, truer love than any other- that is what I believe.
So in the end, I think, seeing both the light and the darkness of our world is necessary to our growth as human beings. By being hurt, and choosing to move forward, we nurture our humanity. Our hearts become stronger, and because of that, because they can hold more pain, they can also hold more love. So in the end, evil is not entirely bad, because it can teach us how to love. And isn't it true that light is always brighter and more appreciated after being in darkness for a while? We see the night, and we must choose to look forward to the dawn.
I guess in the end, I truly believe that you must see both sides of this world in order to truly love it.
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