One among the more interesting persons I have met is an ex-religious. He joined a clerical order, and studied up to his diaconate. He left just before being ordained a deacon. He told me why. Let us call him Prabhu (not his real name).
H said something like this, – “We, human beings, want to be happy. To be happy, we need a challenge. I did not find a worthwhile challenge in religious life. I remember my life in the theology house. There were days on which I would lie awake on my bed early morning and ask myself, ‘Why get up today? For what?’ I did not find anything worthwhile to do.”
Hearing this, someone asked Prabhu, “If so, why didn’t you leave earlier?”
“Because everything was provided. It was very easy simply to go on from day to day. But I found that kind of life more and more meaningless. So, I decided to leave.”
He left. Two companions accompanied him to the small room he took on rent in Bangalore. After they left, he sat on his trunk (which held all his earthly possessions). Two thoughts struck him. One: I am utterly alone in this world. Two: Till yesterday, others told me what to do. From today, I have to make all the decisions myself.
His first need was to start earning a living. He had very little money with him. He remembered that a convent of sisters was looking for material for making habits. He contacted them. He then travelled to Tirupur in Tamilnadu, found that material, took a bus to Coimbatore, spent the whole night in the bus stand (since he had no money for staying in a lodge), caught a morning bus to Kerala, sold that cloth to the sisters and made his first small income.
This is how he started. Today, he is a successful businessman. But the first days and years were far from easy.
His brother is a happy missionary in Africa who has done much good. “I am happy that my brother is a missionary in Africa, and that I am a layman,” Prabhu says.
What challenges have you faced in life? Are there challenges you are facing now? Do you face challenges head on, or tend to avoid them?
Do you tend to look for what is easy, and run away from what is better, but difficult? Or do you face challenges, look at problems and find solutions? In general, do you look for what is better or for what is easier?
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
