10 March 2010
Something Extraordinary
-- by Mike Murray
Midway through
the Hollywood version of A Beautiful Mind,
John Nash Jr. -- a math whiz who had, as a graduate student, developed equilibrium theory (and who currently suffers from
severe schizophrenia) -- is in danger of being involuntarily committed to a mental institution by his wife, Alicia.
She ultimately decides against doing so, declaring to her troubled husband: "I need to believe that something extraordinary
is possible."
It is, for me, the most
poignant moment of the film. It is Alicia's way of acknowledging that the odds are heavily stacked against her
husband and her -- that she realizes that it is unlikely that they will be able to share any semblance of a normal life.
But it is also a revelation that she is, nevertheless, prepared to cling to (and to work toward) that improbability.
Most people eventually
arrive at the place John and Alicia Nash occupied in that scene. Exact circumstances vary, to be sure. But there
comes the inevitable moment for all of us when seemingly unbearable awfulness invades our lives. And when
it does, we hope against hope that it will miraculously disappear. Or, at the very least, that we will find
some way to survive it. For the most unfortunate among us, such tortuous moments arrive with cruel frequency.
Logic dictates that unpleasant
outcomes are sometimes inescapable. Many of our loved ones will, at some point, become seriously ill or incapacitated.
And absolutely all of them will eventually pass away. It is the nature of the world -- and we are powerless to change
it. We know that. But, in the matter of affection, hearts routinely reject what minds accept.
And so, during our darkest
hours we plead for intercession (both human and divine). We pray for something wonderful to happen. Oftentimes,
it doesn't. But every now and then, it does. Which gives us reason enough to pursue the improbable. And
to hope for the extraordinary.
Copyright
© 2010 Michael F. Murray All rights reserved.
Cross-posted at bereapundit.com
