Best of the Week: Facts of Life

Earlier this week, Tim brought up a point that really hit home with me. On page 200 we learned that the Alliance had destroyed Baba's orphanage. Hosseini goes on to describe how hard Baba worked to make that orphanage a reality. "All the money he had spent, all those nights he'd sweated over the blueprints, all the visits to the construction site to make sure every brick, every beam, and every block was laid just right..." When asked why it was destroyed, Rahim quickly responded, "collateral damage." After reading the passage, Tim mentioned how things can take a great deal of time or energy to create or build, but only an instant to destroy...like Amir and Hassan's relationship. Amir had been working very diligently to construct his "brotherly" bond with Hassan. However, one moment's hesitation shattered the friendship.

Since I heard the idea, I have been trying to think of examples of "Unfair and Unproportional (the name I have given it)" in my own life, and I was surprised how many came up. I too, like Amir, have lost some friends over the years because of decisions I (or they) made. Another great example is the concept of finals. A student can work very hard all semester, only to lose their A because of one test taken in an hour and a half. Another memory that comes to mind was saving up for an iPod, only to have it fall in the sink after a year of use. On a more shallow note all of my preparation for fantasy football seems to have gone out the window so far because of one bad week. I have adopted the Cubs slogan of "Wait 'til Next Year."

Hearing Tim speak, I remember wishing I could use the "Inconvenient Truth" prompt this week. Loss and defeat are a natural part of life, but it just does not seem fair to me that one negative action can make more of a difference than ten positive ones. The best example I can think of is dating. If you are 29 and you meet a girl you think is great and the two of you decide to date, that's a positive action. But if after a long relationship, say five years, she decides to cut it off, where does that leave you? You are 34 and are no closer to a family then you were when you set off five years previous. That just doesn't seem right to me, especially when the breakup isn't necessarily anyone's fault. However, since this "U and U" is uncontrollable, one just has to do their best to prevent situations like these from occurring, and make the best of whatever does happen.

I'm sure everyone hopes situations like the orphanage being destroyed or Amir losing Hassan or my iPod getting water damage do not become a part of their lives, but as I previously said, this "U and U" is irrepressable. Even if you've spent a lot of time and energy on something, it is still prone to an attack. The successful people in this world are the ones who can accept defeat and move forward. I hope to be one of those people in the future.