The darkest hour is before dawn. The darkest time is before the dawn
Especially those whose lives were upended by the February 2014 coup d'état. As a justification for their pessimism, they cite the fact that, as they say, "Ukraine is dead." Not in the sense that there is a crisis of Ukrainian statehood, but because of the silence, inaction of the inhabitants of this country. They explain their passivity by the fact that neo-Nazi propaganda erased the remnants of everything human in people, turned them into zombies, obsessed with the greatness of the “Ukrainian Nation” and tearing the vest on their chest for Bandera, the “heavenly hundred” and “holy war against Russian aggression”.
Well, the year was really difficult, even difficult, ending with a whole chain of unpleasant events, the savoring of which again "pleased" some residents of Ukraine. But the mountains of flowers in front of the fences of the Russian embassy and consulates have shown that the hysterics writhing in the angry Russophobic bark are far from the whole of Ukraine.
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In mid-December, the Razumkov Center sociological service, known for its partiality to the political forces currently in power, published the results of a survey of Ukrainian residents, conducted in September-November of this year. Such an extended period of the survey of 2015 respondents, as well as the assessment given to the results by the Dnepropetrovsk “patriotic” website “First Urgent News of Ukraine”, suggests that the “patriots” are not very happy with the findings: “Unfortunately, the bad trends that back, only strengthened.
Alas, the trends, indeed, cannot please the “Ukrainian patriots”. Ukrainians and Russians are considered fraternal peoples by 87% of the inhabitants of the east of the country and 28% of the west, and 45% of respondents in the east and 9.5% in the west are generally convinced that Ukrainians and Russians are one people.
At the same time, 62% of residents of the east and 18.7% of the west of Ukraine believe that relations with Russia should be normalized, even if Crimea remains part of the Russian Federation.
44.7% of residents of the eastern regions believe that it is necessary to deepen cooperation with Russia, and more than 60% of them are ready to justify those who go to work in Russia. At the same time, 48.5% of residents of the western regions are convinced that this cooperation should be completely curtailed, and another 31% are in favor of reducing cooperation.
54.6% of the inhabitants of the western regions and only 13% in the east of the country are convinced of the need to provide armed resistance to Russia if it decides on a full-scale invasion, in any case, even if there is no international assistance. At the same time, 27.9% of residents of the eastern regions of Ukraine offer to immediately surrender to reduce the number of victims, and 40% have not decided on an answer.
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There is also a difference in the perception of the current government.
83% of residents of the eastern regions and 57% of those living in the western regions of Ukraine do not believe that the reforms are carried out in the interests of the majority of citizens.
In the West, 53% believe that the level of democracy and civil liberties has increased in the country after the coup d'état, while in the East, 25.6% agree with this point of view, 67% disagree.
But 43% of the population in the west and 80% in the east of Ukraine are not ready to endure even a temporary decline in living standards for the sake of the ongoing “reforms” and the strengthening of the Ukrainian army.
The data of the sociological group "Rating", funded by the government of Canada, indicate that only 1% of the inhabitants of Ukraine fully approve of the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada, and 3% of the activities of President Poroshenko.
And according to information released by the director of the Humanitarian Strategies Foundation Mikhail Pavliv, 73.6% of Ukrainians believe that the authorities are profiting from the war in Donbass. 46.5% of the population are convinced that only another president will be able to negotiate an end to the war. “This is the verdict of this government,” Pavliv believes.
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No, it's too early to "bury" Ukraine, it's too early to consider its population "Maidan" only because the most "stoned" are angry and pour out their hatred. Let them rage, their time is coming to an end. After all, as you know, the most dark hour- before dawn.
Alexander Gorokhov, "One Motherland"
Hey...
Sometimes it's better to leave things as they are. Walking in faceless loneliness among the empty streets wherever your eyes look, to envy the free wind, lonely stars, the wise sun and the mute moon. Sometimes we are afraid of losing and losing what we have. Although everything that we do not do and everything that happens to us is written with one hand. And if we learned to live in the present alone, we would not hide in ourselves. Maybe that's why there is a void so that a person can learn to be aware and smile with happiness. Our loneliness is not in what is lost in the emptiness of our hearts, but in what comes out of it. It seems to me that we are alone in a vast world when I look into your eyes. And let the days do not differ from one another as well as the time from sunrise to sunset, and every day the emptiness becomes silent and its stinginess does not care about the past, not the future, it is content with looking at people. But you will someday realize that the darkest hour of your life is before the most beautiful dawn. And let people come into your life in search of something new, but leave, remaining the same as they were. They will understand that the old past is better than the present. All life is more interesting when the people around you are the same. And somehow it turns out by itself that they enter your life and, without noticing it themselves, want to change it. Time will pass and you will read this letter again. And only then can you understand it. After all, the more unusual a person is, the simpler he looks. Thus, the more inconspicuous it is for others, the easier it is to forget and lose it. And not everyone can understand the meaning of his words, and the meaning of life. Perhaps we will never see each other again and everything will remain a simple dream of a lonely man, but I ask you to never forget that your wealth gives birth to the emptiness of your heart. It must be found, because only there, there everything that you find and feel on the way to it will find its meaning. It is where the emptiness hides your heart, soul, soul is true to the laws of life, your treasure is hidden. Your love.
Translation
Hi...
Sometimes it "s better to leave things as they are. Stepping into a faceless loneliness among the empty streets aimlessly, envy-free wind, for single stars, wise the sun and the moon silent. Sometimes we are afraid to lose and lose what you have. Although we did not do and everything that happens to us is written by one hand. And if we have learned to live one real, not hiding b in itself. Maybe that "s why there" sa void to be able to learn to recognize and smile happiness. Our loneliness is not that lost in the emptiness of our hearts, and that comes out of it. I think we"re alone in a huge world when I look into your eyes. And let the days do not differ from one another as the time from sunrise to sunset, and day by day emptiness becomes silent and avarice is not the case not the past, not the future, it is satisfied that looking at people. But have you ever realize that the darkest hour of your life before the most beautiful dawn. And let people come into your life in search of something new, but leave the remaining the same as they were. They will understand that the old past is better than the present. All life and all the better when the people around you the same. And somehow by itself it turns out that they are in your life and yourself not noticing it, wish to change it. Time will pass and you will again read this letter. And only then will you be able to understand. After all, not usually what a person is, the easier it is with the mind. Thus it is noticeable to others, the easier it is to forget and to lose. And the meaning of his words, and the meaning of life to understand under the force is not given to everyone. Maybe we "ll never see each other and everything will remain just a dream a lonely man, but I pray you never forget that your wealth breeds emptiness of your heart. It must be found because only there, there everything you will find and get a feel on the way to it will have meaning .Exactly where the emptiness hides all your heart, soul, the soul is true to the laws of life, your hidden treasure.
Life is not only an atmosphere of endless happiness and a series of impressions and joy. You must have gone through (or are going through now) a period conventionally called "pitch darkness".
When you are not sitting still, doing something, but it feels like you are wandering aimlessly in a circle. You are trying to improve certain areas of life, you are striving for something, but all your efforts and efforts do not lead to the desired satisfaction. You are trying with all your might to build a bridge to the hearts of loved ones, but it turns out to lay only walls ...
What to do?
Take it easy. Take a deep breath and know that everyone goes through this. You are not alone.
When I have such moments, I always remember a wonderful phrase - "The darkest time is before dawn." You just need to wait, endure ... Break through!
desert life
In all life situations I read the Bible. It contains many encouraging examples and wisdom.
In the "dark times" I was inspired by the story of Jesus Christ, who spent 40 days in the wilderness. Before seeing great miracles in his calling and life, He went through a terrible period. Just imagine! 40 days without water and food... And this is in sweltering heat! Thirst, hunger, mental pressure... Every day is like another: desert, desert, desert... And every step carries a danger - a meeting with poisonous snakes....brrr! The picture is not pleasant, is it?
But He endured. He knew that a huge mission awaited him ahead - saving people. And that no one but Him can save people from sin. Therefore, he endured, humbled himself, held on ...
I believe that you are a unique person with a special mission. The calling that you have, only you can fulfill in this life. We don't have another you! And this world really needs you! Remember this in difficult times. And you will pass your desert!
The more darkness you get into, the more you will feel the brightness of the light. It's already starting to shine in your life!
Personal experience
I have gone through some very difficult times in my life. Everywhere was bad. There was no strength and motivation to change something. It seemed, why? Everything will end badly anyway. There is no meaning in life, faith in the best is useless ...
It was at that moment that God found me. He responded to my sincere inner search and a light turned on in the room of my life, which shines brighter every day.
That is why I share this light with you. Know that you are not alone. Everything you're going through right now is temporary. God is next to you. He is waiting for you to sincerely turn your eyes from problems to Him and ask for help. He will never force Himself on you. Because He gave you free will and the right to choose: to be with Him or without Him, to be protected or vulnerable, blessed or cursed, deceived or knowing the Truth.
Jesus said to him: I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6
I pray that everyone reading this article will be filled with God's Father's love. So that broken hearts will be restored, so that freedom will come to oppressed destinies, so that where there is darkness, a bright Light will shine!
All this I ask the Father in Jesus' Name. After all, it is written in the Bible, "EVERYTHING that you do not ask the Father in My name - it will be for you!". Therefore, I believe that dawn is ALREADY coming in that area of your life where it seemed that darkness completely swallowed up emotions, mind, feelings ... And you believe it :)
I know the best is yet to come!
What helps you get through difficult times in your life? Share with me in the comments!
She was 17 when her mother died due to complications during surgery. Graduation is on the nose, shoes are bought, a dress is invented. And suddenly - grief "so huge, so endless, you are from him under the covers, and it is guarding you there too." She then withstood, and now she wrote a text about it, which responded on the Internet with a thousand likes and ten pages of comments. In continuation of her poignant "Sacrament of Suffering" - this conversation with the nun Evgenia (Senchukova).
Many questions that we face in our church life will surely find their answer over time. However, there are those who remain a stumbling block for both neophytes and believers with "long church experience." The righteous Job asked God to explain what and why he was suffering. The God-Man Jesus Christ, in terrible agony on the Cross, asked: My God, My God! why did you leave me?(Matthew 27:46). The question of the causes of suffering, God-forsakenness is one of the most difficult in Christianity.
- Varlam Shalamov has a saying that you always live through acute grief alone, you can only walk this path alone. And the fact that you share the trouble with friends is nothing but a beautiful myth. Do you agree with this point of view?
Indeed, with ultimate grief you are always left alone. And it's not that the other will not help you, just some part of your suffering still remains inaccessible to anyone.
- Stories are amazing when people in the most difficult life situations wanted to be helped, but they themselves resisted such attempts. Homeless children fled from clean and comfortable shelters back to their slums; wives refused to leave their sadistic husbands, who posed a threat to the lives of both themselves and their children; the terminally ill did not agree to accept help, and so on. How can this be explained, the irrational nature of man or ...?
These are very different situations, and they can be explained in different ways. Homeless and homeless people are simply returning to their usual way of life. They do not perceive such a choice as tragic, for them it is just one of the options for a social niche. The difficulty is that they have managed to adapt to uncomfortable conditions, and it is easier for them to stay in them than to change their lives. A striking example is the homeless boy Huckleberry Finn from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, who runs away from the widow who sheltered him just because he gets bored. Homeless life with a drunkard father was not perceived by him as a tragedy - rather, as a kind of freedom.
The wives of sadistic and manipulative husbands tend to be codependent. Such women require comprehensive psychological assistance, which, unfortunately, they often simply cannot provide. You should also not forget that they feel a certain “responsibility” for their husbands: “How can he be without me?!”. After all, as a rule, in men who allow themselves to raise their hands against a woman, the mood alternates: from the most severe humiliation of the spouse to self-flagellation, tearful requests for forgiveness, and the like.
If we consider the case of terminally ill patients, we must remember that there are several stages of a person's perception of his diagnosis. The first stage is "denial", when people refuse to believe in their illness, in its degree of seriousness. The last stage is “acceptance”, when a person has come to terms with the fact that he is hopelessly ill. In this case, he perceives attempts to help as an "assault" on this situation, which he has already accepted, as an attempt to destroy his already fragile world.
All this must be distinguished. And the point here is not so much in the irrational nature of a person, but in psychological mechanisms, the essence of which is that it is easier for a person to accept difficult circumstances than to decide to change them. He reaches out to simple solutions. And this is predictable: in extreme situations, we try to save vital energy, and when there are no guarantees that help will come, we direct all our efforts to survive in the circumstances to which we are already accustomed, and not to take risks, rushing headlong into the unknown.
- Catholicism is called the “religion of Christmas”, and Orthodoxy is called the “religion of Easter”. At the same time, the Orthodox place a special emphasis on the idea of the redemption of suffering, which sometimes confuses unchurched people. Is there a danger here of turning suffering into an end in itself? When joy and simple human happiness are perceived as something shameful and unworthy. How to avoid this temptation and be ready to accept not only Golgotha, but also Easter?
There is such a problem. In fact, it is Catholic asceticism that focuses on passions; this is not typical for the Orthodox tradition. Another thing is that this is rather our mental trait - "to drink the cup of suffering to the bottom." And it is connected with historical realities, historically difficult conditions of life (economic, social and others).
How to avoid this temptation? Only thoughtful reading of the Gospel. After all, the gospel episode of the Passion of the Lord takes, in fact, one day - Good Friday. All the rest of the time, the preaching of Christ is a call to unceasing joy: Rejoice and have fun(Matthew 5:12). Even addressing the suffering, the Lord said: "Blessed...".
Only by carefully reading the Gospel, the writings of the holy fathers, we will understand that suffering brings strength and benefit when there is an awareness that there will be enlightenment behind them. I also touched upon this problem in my publication “The Sacrament of Suffering”: Golgotha and Resurrection are connected. As they say, "the darkest hour is before dawn." When there is nowhere worse, then Easter comes. If suffering were endless, and it had no way out in the form of light and joy, the meaning of our existence would be incomprehensible.
One of the most common arguments of atheists is the presence of the suffering of the innocent in our world: the Holocaust, the Gulag, childhood illnesses and mortality, and much more. The well-known Christian author from America, Philip Yancey, even devoted an entire book to the question "Where is God when I suffer?" In your article, you answer like this: "On the neighboring cross next to mine."
Here, people who do not believe may have at least two counterarguments. Firstly, if God does not want to encroach on human freedom and save the world by force, and therefore allows evil, then what does this have to do with a baby undergoing the Nth course of chemotherapy, writhing in pain in the arms of a heartbroken mother and not yet personally expressing any sinful will? And, secondly, is it not tempting to imagine God, suffering next to us on the "neighboring cross", helpless before some kind of cosmic force, similar to the fate in the mythology of the ancient Greeks, which dominates Him too? How to resolve these two dilemmas?
The argument that "God does not want to encroach on human freedom" seems to me to be weak in general. Because evil often arises not in connection with the sinful will of a person. Of course, evil exists as a result of the fall of the first people, this is an ontological reason, but a person can suffer, being completely innocent. When someone gets cancer, it means they just got cancer. If a brick fell on a person, then a brick just fell on him - and there is no fault of his. So the first argument doesn't work.
As for the second argument, to be honest, I do not have the problem of "God's helplessness in the face of fatal force." Excessive anthropomorphism in the perception of God is generally inappropriate. The Lord does not correct evil, not because he is not able, and not because he does not want to stop it. He just doesn't fix it. His motives are fundamentally different from ours: My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. But as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.(Isaiah 55:8-9).
You need to understand that this world lies in evil. Our task is to bring light into the darkness of this world. By by and large, Christ created the Church for this. The Lord can sometimes intervene directly through miracles, answering our prayer, but in any case, this is some kind of co-creative, synergistic act. God's answer is an answer to prayer, questioning, or even indifference. When we read in Scripture: Behold, I stand at the door and knock(Rev. 3, 20), we take it literally - that God knocks timidly, never breaks in, does not enter first, expects our hospitality.
How to answer a non-believer to his questions? Remember, in The Chronicles of Narnia, in the penultimate story, The Silver Throne, there is absolutely amazing dialogue. The plot is as follows: heroes from our world end up in Narnia, where they find out that Prince Riliane is languishing in the Dungeon. He was not only captured, but also drugged: and only at night he becomes himself, and the rest of the time he is absolutely satisfied with his position and does not remember Narnia. When he is released from the spell, the Green Witch who has bewitched him appears. She begins to charm our heroes too: she convinces us that there is no Narnia, no sun (on what would it be attached?) and so on. And one of the heroes, Luzhekhmur, resisting the charms, utters very important words: “We may be children who started the game, but it turns out that while playing, we came up with a world that is better in all respects than yours, the real one. And therefore I am for this invented world. I am on the side of Aslan, even if the real Aslan does not exist. I will try to live like a Narnian, even if there is no Narnia."
This may be our answer to unbelievers: “You, an atheist, doubt that there will be peace after death. But I'd rather believe it." I think it's called "Pascal's wager": "If you don't believe in God, you lose everything; if you do, you lose nothing." In this case, even more: if you believe in God, you gain everything.
Everyone is very fond of quoting the words of Karl Marx taken out of context: "Religion is the opium of the people." But in fact, the German philosopher said quite the opposite: religion does not intoxicate, religion consoles. It is like opium, that is, like a painkiller. He even has this line: "This is a heart for a heartless world."
Yes, it can be argued that my faith has a therapeutic effect, that it is just a fiction, a defensive reaction. You can think so, because I can not prove otherwise. But faith does not need proof. There are things that cannot be proven, but this does not cancel them and does not reduce their value.
- Father Sergius Kruglov has an idea that one of the differences between man and the whole created world is “the potential for such Suffering, which not a single thing knows.” How can one explain the exclusivity of this suffering: the ability to recognize its causes, to bear responsibility for it, or ...?
I would say that a person is distinguished by the ability to comprehend suffering. Human suffering is not exclusive: an animal with cancer suffers just as much, and perhaps even more, because it cannot ask for help. But it is a person who is able to reflect on his own pain, on its injustice.
In this context, returning to your very first question about the ultimate suffering, which cannot be shared with anyone, anyway, in this situation, we will at least try to find the cause of suffering while realizing our own impossibility to help the sufferer.
- But any dog lover will tell how his faithful dog shared his pain with the owner. How then is human compassion different?
Human empathy differs only in awareness. There is one opinion that the boundaries of personality are empathy. Therefore, it is believed that dogs are closer to a person, to his formation, than, for example, cats. This idea is close to me. A child grows into a person when he begins to learn to empathize, to contact the world. Any contact involves empathy. The animal, on the other hand, is limited in its capabilities - it cannot reflect together with a person about his pain, analyze the experience of the Other.
- My friend works in an Orthodox charitable organization for helping the seriously ill. I admire how selflessly she fights for every child: she invents and conducts numerous charity events, stands for hours in the cold, collecting funds, organizing common prayers and much more. However, it happens that her children still die. And here, not only a militant atheist, but also a believer “with many years of experience” may even grumble, especially against the background of the words of the Savior: And I will tell you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Which of you father, when his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (Luke 11:9-11). What then do these gospel words and prayer in general mean if we do not receive what we ask for?
This is a difficult question for me. I would answer this way: the end is also a way out, a relief. Another thing is that “the balance is not maintained”: loved ones are doomed to suffer.
By and large, probably, your friend is herself the bread that the Heavenly Father gives to the one who asks.
- One of the reports of Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh was entitled “How to live with yourself?”. The farther, the more clearly you understand that it is this, and not external difficulties and trials, that is the most difficult challenge. human life. How do you answer this question for yourself?
How to live? - Carefully.
Recently I heard from the Orthodox psychologist Natalya Inina a phrase she borrowed from Evagrius of Pontus: “What is not realized easily turns into passion.” I really liked these words. Inina just says that the task of a psychologist is to help a person realize what he does not want to realize. Asceticism is also engaged in this: to realize oneself, to find one's own personality. All monastic practices are an attempt to break through to one's depths. The whole Christian life is the path to the true self. After all, only you yourself, the real one, can meet God. Therefore, you need to live with yourself soberly and carefully.
