The ego’s house was made to be torn down, to be reduced to a pile of rubble. There is no prevention for it, either. We put on our egos out of social pressure and we then lead lives of quiet desperation.

One story comes to mind. A brilliant and beautiful young woman was out on the river in a foreign country with her friend and she suffered horrific injuries. With the help of dedicated family members and friends, she has not only survived but thrived. Her innate joy never left her, for that is what she is made of. You might say that out of the rubble of her accident, she showed that she herself was eternally beautiful.

We are always being torn down only to be rebuilt in a more meaningful way. That is but one brief example.

Listening to the horror that is happening in Ukraine, the thought occurred to me that whatever we are feeling is okay, no. matter how negative our feelings may be. We are made to be rebuilt in a much more meaningful way.

Nothing can uproot the bravery of the Ukrainian people. The physical devastation is almost total and will continue to get worse. People are grieving and starving and being compressed like charcoal being compressed into a diamond. This does not excuse the evil of Vladimir Putin; only God can deal with him. It just means that goodness is stronger than evil in every story ever written.

Let us keep the faith. All of our houses are being torn down. Now we can build what we choose and make of this disaster some kind of parable for the universe to nourish us on.

“Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!”

From “The Chambered Nautilus” by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Vicki Woodyard