I went on a short trip to Rome with a couple of my sisters.
We hit the ground running from arrival. There were so much to do and see. It felt like a bombardment of history, art, culture and ancient civilizations. The environment was bursting with the vibrancy of the busy streets.
There were so many wow and wondrous moments.
One of the highlights for me was visiting the magnificent overarching Colosseum. If you have watched the films Gladiators, you might have a small appreciation of the awfulness of the combating between gladiators, between man and beast.
As I walked around and at times paused and wondered, it was as if I could hear the voices of those caught up in the euphoric atmosphere either as innocent bystanders or willing participants.
The aching limbs of those who needed to fight yet another fight and having no way of hiding, resting or escaping.
The fearless who sought fame and fortune, definitely not for the fainthearted.
I wondered about the spectators who were so blood thirsty who hurriedly choose to got their seats, waiting with baited breathe to see and smell fresh blood.
I am not sure whether people of faith were among those who were killed in the Colosseum, but I wondered about the value placed on those lives taken and given.
It got me wondering about those who were martyred, who chose to surrender their live for a cause. They were living for a cause which was greater than themselves. This cause was worth dying for.
Viktor Frankl a psychologist, a holocaust survivor, author of Man’s Search for Meaning and founder of Logotherapy suggest that our search for meaning is our greatest motivational force.
He said, ‘forces beyond your control can take everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.’
You can choose to find meaning even in suffering.
Michael de Montaigne is thought to have said ‘A soul which has no fixed purpose (meaning) in life is lost; to be everywhere is to be nowhere.’
Let’s find our purpose and choose to live it well.