Aching Humanity

There is nothing like the moment when you are told news that changes your life forever.

I am sitting in the hospital waiting room in the ICU as I write this. The amount of suffering has left an impression on me. I just witnessed through a window a doctor in his blue scrubs giving some very bad news to a beautiful family. Arms dropped, hands joined in prayer, shock was evident on their faces. The doctor walked away and they stood there with their world shattered.

Everything is different; in an instant everything changed.

To my left, a family is speaking of their father whose organs are shutting down as they speak. The rabbi just headed out to his room again... As I write, I do not pretend to know their suffering. I can only catch glimpses from where I am sitting. It is an overwhelming feeling to think so many people here in this hospital right now, fellow patients with my dad, may not make it for their next birthday, their daughter's wedding... 

When we encounter suffering, and the confusion and anger that may linger for years, we are overcome by this indispensable part of the human experience. Nothing can really prepare us for those words that rock our world and seem to bring it crashing down on us.

Yet amidst all of this, there is a sense of unity, of compassion, of love. Hope surpasses all things and sustains us through the pain. When we encounter suffering, we can also encounter grace.

Grace and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

ROCIO PEREZ