The maturity in experiencing trouble and adversity

by Vito Viganò

There are moments in life when what happens justifies the heavy impression of a pile of troubles. The pandemic, then the war, the worrying global warming with alternating droughts and hurricanes, the suffocated democracies and the looming economic crises: where is this poor humanity going? Today it is difficult to keep hope alive, but it becomes precious precisely when the troubles seem too much. For the believer it is a theological virtue, a gift from God because it is based on benevolent divine providence: "God sees and God provides". But hope is also a delicate human virtue, of which everyone is capable.

Producing hope. It can be cultivated thanks to a delicate mental operation, which consists in shifting attention from concentration on troubles and what is despairing, to orient it towards a more promising future prospect. Hope is therefore a feeling that concerns the future, keeping in mind good reasons to expect that it will be more promising than the present reality which is problematic. If it rains, I console myself by thinking that beautiful sunshine is expected tomorrow. If I miss my "love", I anticipate the pleasure of seeing him again until next weekend. If I am tense about an exam to take, I think I will get a good result that compensates for tension and fatigue.

«A psychologist in the concentration camp». It is the title of the book in which Viktor Frankl describes his condition as a deportee, survivor of several concentration camps. He says that, right at the height of the horror in which he found himself, he had the intuition to create a space of inner freedom, untouchable by anyone. It is he who decides how to live the terrible situation imposed on him. But then he can also cultivate a hope, a future perspective on what his life will become, once free. In this way he designs the therapeutic method that he will then practice successfully, until late in life. And he manages to inoculate the seed of future hope in other fellow prisoners, who manage to survive.

Hope and maturity. The prospect of a different and better future, even if fragile, must be supported and defended from the discouraging onslaught of feeling in trouble. Maturity is the commitment to make a change of perspective over and over again, from a painful current situation  to a better future. But maturity also means excluding illusions: hope must be concrete and credible, not just fake. It is based on future factors, but which can really be counted on at the right time. Hope is not only useful in the most difficult events. In the daily rhythm, difficulties and stress, setbacks and disappointments can sometimes break down and discourage you. Instinctively we are more sensitive to the negative, with the risk of not generating a perspective of hope, which renews vitality and allows us to move things in a useful direction. Maturity means keeping the love for one's good life alive, it is essential for the hope of a better future, however possible. Because the sun always shines again after every storm.