Why am I Sick?
We face many challenges in our lives. We lose our time, money, and property. Our family and friends are taken from us. Although with difficulties, but we can overcome most of these trials. We are always able to buy another car or understand that a beloved person is gone because it was better for him or her.
However, the hardest challenge a human can face is sickness. Unlike most other things in life, we cannot simply replace our health with money, time, or effort. Pain and disability make it hard for us to find reason in our suffering.
Anyway, we must admit that not the pain troubles us so much but our attitude towards it. After all, we can endure much pain caused by surgery because we believe it will help us, but illness seems to come without benefit. As some philosophers have observed, it is not the suffering itself that is intolerable, but rather our belief that it is meaningless.
When we face an illness, our goal should be to eliminate the negative effects thereof in any possible way. In many cases, this means that we should work to reduce the illness, but sometimes it does not help. Exercise will not treat cancer and no amount of vegetables can cure arthritis.
From a very young age, our bodies start their slow breakdown. Over the course of time, we can get a greater number of more severe health problems. Aside from treating our illness, the only way we can reduce our suffering is by seeking understanding.
In our culture, we consider illness to be “bad luck” or a “misfortune.” Scientists attempt to explain the illness in terms of chemical reactions. A sick person may ask his or her doctor “Why do I have cancer?” The doctor may respond correctly, “Some of your cells have started reproducing themselves in a harmful way.” This explains how, but not why.
How can we make sense of this complex world of health when all traditional explanations still leave us asking “why?” Why do some people smoke for 60 years and rarely get sick? Why do some newborn babies die of respiratory problems?
We must find harmony with our approach to illness. Although we are now focusing on understanding illness, spiritual progress does not mean we should become passive or indifferent. On the surface, it may appear that God has willed our sickness while we desire health. However, in reality, God has created the disease, the cure, and our desire for health. Each of these elements has its place in our lives. We cannot imagine that we are struggling against our Creator. We must strive to remain patient and understand the benefit that illness can bring to us.
The process of understanding and coping with illness requires multiple steps. First, we must examine our understanding of some issues surrounding the illness. Second, we must consider the different functions of illness. Third, we must explore certain issues that will help us adapt to illness.
Central Issues of Illness
As our first step, we must think about some core issues that help us understand the illness. We must think about the reality of “chance” and see our lives as gifts. We must also relieve ourselves from our false sense of ownership and put pleasure and pain into perspective.
The Myth of Chance
We often see sickness as a failure of “chance.” Even the latest medical technology and research can only report to us in terms of “chances.” For example, given certain conditions, there is a known chance that we will have a stroke or that a certain medication will help us. The best we can hope is to improve our “chances.”
Mass media often show “chance”, or “fate”, as a human being using his or her power to do good or bad. Such ads may help sell lottery tickets or insurance, but we must recognize that they contradict the reality we see in this world and in ourselves.
If we accept an all-powerful Creator, we cannot also believe that chance is another independent, secondary creator. Rather than that, we must reject all concepts of “chance” and work to free our reason from this burden.
God creates all events, including ones we dislike, specifically for us. As a result, we must search for the treasure God has hidden in our painful times. After all, an infinitely compassionate Creator would not cause us to endure pain for no reason.
In addition, we can take comfort in knowing that God has found us worthy of being tested and taught by this trial. Illness is like surgery in which our Creator removes our spiritual sickness. Pain carries numerous important messages and acts as a guide for us, which we will discuss later.
Respecting the Gift of Life
In order to understand the meaning of illness, we must first think about the purpose of our lives. Our lives are like tools that are given to us. We are given the freedom to use them in different ways. If we misuse the tools, they will produce nothing for us and will be wasted.
On the other hand, if we use the tools in the right way, they will bring fruitful results to us. For example, if we have a truck, we can choose to drive it only for fun and end up with nothing. We can also use it for work and obtain great benefits.
We must consider not only the gift but also the giver. If a beloved person gives us a meaningful gift, we would be too ashamed to misuse or complain about it, regardless of its price. Common decency tells us that if we are to honor the giver, we must treat the gift respectfully.
Moreover, our lives are like fruit. We can eat the fruit and benefit or we can watch it rot and become wasted. Like the fruit, our lives are going to perish, so we must benefit from them before it is too late.
Our culture tells us that we always deserve to live in ultimate comfort. What did we do to earn this right? How can we claim that we are the masters of our existence if we did not create a single cell in our bodies? Rather than claiming our “rights,” we should recognize that we are the humble recipients of the priceless gift of life.
Illness can remind us that we owe our existence to our Creator. In this way, sickness shows us our need for our Sustainer’s gifts. Furthermore, we can reinforce this understanding by treating this gift of life with the respect that our Creator deserves.
Our False Ownership
Modern society teaches us to “stand up for ourselves” and assert our rights. Though it is a good piece of advice, it nevertheless prevents us from progressing in the spiritual sense and from understanding the nature of the illness.
We must admit that we did not make our bodies or our abilities. As a result, we can not claim to own them. Instead of that, we should rather admit that our Sustainer creates and guides them. We are like models that are hired by the most skillful tailor. During our lives, the tailor changes our clothing and makes us sit and stand in different poses according to his will.
In life, our beautiful clothes are our senses and abilities. We do not own them and, therefore, we have no right to complain if our Maker changes their form, for example by putting them into the state of illness. Although it may be hard for us to see, sickness is among the beautiful states in which God may put us so that we could learn more about our true nature.
Looking Back on Pleasure and Pain
We cannot deny that illness often brings great pain. However, as we look at our past, our pleasures and pains become reversed. Our past pleasures bring us pain when we grieve about them when they are gone.
By contrast, thinking of our past suffering brings us pleasure because we know that the difficulty has passed. Thoughts of past enjoyment can scars of regret on our spirit. In this way, brief pleasure brings lasting pain. By contrast, the thought of past suffering should cause us to thank God for our relief. As a result, brief pain can deliver lasting pleasure and benefit. In times of sickness, we can say “Praise be to God for this too will pass, leaving me with great reward.”
Some people with a chronic or terminal illness may say that their pain will never end. Although their pain may extend until their deaths, they can look forward to their lives after death. If we understand the nature of pain, then we will know that it is created only for this world and does not exist in the better one.
Functions of Illness
Illness has many functions that are helpful to us in our lives. Understanding these functions will help us to remain patient in the face of illness. Understanding will also help us to benefit from it as much as possible.
Illness slows life down so that we could benefit from it, encourages and purifies prayer, and promotes compassion. Sickness also wakes us up to our true lives, helps us experience the Divine, and prepares us for death.
The Speed of Life
A life of ease passes in boredom, losing its value and beauty. We can observe the rich seeking endless means of distraction from skiing by helicopter to “space tourism.” Their days go by slowly and they feel a need to find never-ending pleasurable activities to “pass the time.”
By contrast, a life full of challenges seems to pass quickly. Poor farmers will often complain that the short day did not let them finish their work. They are likely to understand the value of their lives and do not wish them to pass quickly in meaningless distraction. Illness slows life down and gives us a chance to benefit from it. In this way, our lives will not pass and leave us empty-handed.
Prayer
We can understand that one of the purposes of illness is prayer itself. If we work to remain patient, illness makes prayer easier for us. Prayer is its own blessing, so we should not be upset if it seems that God is not answering our requests.
Our Creator answers our prayers in the way that is the best for us, not in the way that we believe is the best. We may ask for health in this world, improving our condition for twenty or thirty years. However, God may answer our prayer not at once but improving our conditions in a much greater way.
We can divide our religious actions into two groups. Active worship includes actions such as praying and studying. Passive worship, on the other hand, is remaining patient during difficult times (such as illness).
Passive worship allows us to understand our weaknesses and guides us to our Creator. It improves our worship and makes it sincere. In this way, if we do not complain, our illness becomes powerful worship. Our duty is only to remain patient and thankful in times of trial.
Compassion
Constant good health leads our souls to believe that they are self-sufficient. In this state, we can feel little respect or compassion for others. Illness promotes respect and compassion. Sickness also guides us to humility and builds relationships. In this way, we feel the reflection of Divine compassion in the form of human kindness.
Our Wakeup Call
Illness serves to wake us up from the sleep of everyday life. We can understand this process by looking at people around us. We can see that young people faced with illness are often very different from their friends. Many of them become more serious and think about their existence. They have experienced the emptiness of short-lived pleasures, helping them to focus on the eternal things.
On the other hand, most of their friends in good health look only for the quick pleasures of this world. In this way, many of the so-called “fortunate” people sell their eternal lives for the cheapest of rewards. In addition, many of the so-called “unfortunate” people greatly improve their eternal lives.
We should understand that illness is sent to bring us to full consciousness. If an illness continues, maybe it has not fully woken us up and we can still benefit from it. The illness that wakes us up is, in fact, good health. On the other hand, good health that allows us to sleep our lives away is really a form of sickness.
Pleasant times make us forget the past. They cause us to hate death and lead us to waste our lives on things that do not last long. Illness returns us to reality and tells us: “You are not immortal and you are not alone. You have a duty. Leave your pride and think of your Creator. You know you cannot avoid death so prepare for it.” Thus, illness is a guide that helps us on our way.
Experiencing the Divine
One purpose of illness is to help us experience our Creator. In our lives, we reflect the qualities of God like a mirror. For example, when we give money for charity, it is God that has blessed us with this wealth. Thus, we can see God’s compassion is reflected in us, and we should not claim it for our own.
We can see that the best mirrors are those that reflect most clearly. Our beauty as a mirror of God’s attributes depends on our ability to reflect these qualities in our lives.
Illness is one of the important varieties of creation that teaches us to love our Sustainer. In many aspects of this world, we can only understand something through its opposite. Light without darkness, heat without cold, food without hunger, and water without thirst would all be meaningless. In addition, without sickness, we could never understand the true blessing of healing and health.
We dislike illness but it is invaluable in teaching us our relationship with our Creator. Since we are unable to experience God directly through our senses, we require variety in creation to help us understand ourselves and connect with our Lord.
Life without challenges, such as illness, would limit our understanding of God and his power. Thus, illness helps us to learn the healing power of God, while good health would make us forget our need for the Sustainer. Without these experiences, our mirrors would reflect poorly and shine with very limited beauty as if having blank areas.
Preparing for Death
In part, illness is frightening because it sometimes leads to death. However, one of the benefits of illness is it’s being a reminder of our future.
Sickness warns us not to feel too belonging to this world, as our departure is inevitable. We must let go of this world before it lets go of us. Illness tells us that in contrast to our souls, our bodies do not exist forever. We are powerless and our bodies are always moving towards death.
Millions of our cells die each second. Though some are renewed, we know that it will end someday. Hence, we must leave our pride, embrace our powerlessness, and recognize our Creator. This is the only way to understand our purpose in this world. Pain will bring us comfort after death due to the reward we thus earn. If we strive to adapt to this reality, it will ease our suffering.
Actually, death is relief from the hard work of this life and is the time to receive the fruits of our labor. If we accept only the physical reality around us, death is a pit of darkness. However, if we are conscious of our nature, death is the door to divine mercy.
Adapting to Illness
The next step in our quest is to use our understanding to adapt to illness through one of the several paths existing. We must increase our patience and avoid worrying. Moreover, we must also work to be optimistic and avoid complaining. Lastly, we must not be desperate if illness separates us from others.
Patience and Worry
Illness, death, and separation are guides for us in this world. These essential parts of life tell us that we have not been sent here only for pleasure and amusement.
We focus on pleasure, and our intellect is aware of the future. We are sad that past pleasures are gone and worry about future pains. In this way, our intellect creates needless hardship for us.
We worry about an illness that may come and the pain that it may cause. Thus, we suffer from the non-existing things and feel more pain due to this.
God has created us with enough patience to get through the difficult times of today. However, we use for past, present, and future and then complain about the lack of patience.
As we can see, most animals seem happy with the present, showing no ability to worry about the past or future. A dog may have a leg cut off, but will start playing as soon as he or she is free. A rabbit never worries about what it will eat tomorrow.
On the other hand, we as humans are embraced by regret. We regret the past and worry about the future. However, we need not suffer if we work to understand our purpose. We must see that we are here to trade our short lives for life everlasting.
Worrying about an illness and that it may become more severe only causes its increase. Studies show that anxiety greatly increases our pain. Relaxation, biofeedback, imagery, and massage all reduce pain because they reduce anxiety. In addition, medications that relieve anxiety also reduce pain. We can also increase our spiritual health by reducing our worry.
Worrying causes physical illnesses including those of the heart. True illness is questioning and doubting our Creator. Worrying is an illness, and the cure is to understand the benefit of our challenges. Contentment, understanding, and patience protect spiritual health.
Optimism
It is especially important for us to keep a positive outlook and hope during sickness. Many studies have shown that negative thoughts increase physical and spiritual disease. On the other hand, positive thoughts help protect our physical and spiritual health.
If we recognize that we were created, these findings have an even deeper meaning. When we give up, we are questioning our Creator’s infinite wisdom, power, and mercy. If we have such negative thoughts, how can we expect any positive results?
Keeping a positive outlook, we are embracing Divine wisdom, power, and mercy. If we open ourselves to the Creator, how could our situation do anything but improve?
Complaining
We should avoid complaining about illness because when we complain we are claiming that something is unjust. Our creation is a blessing to us and we have no right to doubt it. Furthermore, we should offer thanks for the blessings in our lives.
If we understand our lives in this context, it becomes easier to be thankful even in times of illness. For example, we can observe that there are always people in a worse condition than we are. Those who have a broken hand can remember that others are missing a hand or an arm, etc.
Nevertheless, we must be careful when we compare ourselves to other people. We should not envy those who are in better condition. No matter how well we know a person, we cannot fully understand his or her real situation. For example, a person may appear to have a wonderful and easy life, but he or she may face constant abuse in private.
When we complain about our creation, we become children who complain about their birthday presents because they did not get what they actually wanted to.
Isolation
For some of us, illness is compounded by the negative reactions of people around us. Many people dislike sickness and avoid places such as hospitals and nursing homes. When family and friends keep distance from us, it hurts.
However, we should seek comfort by understanding our connection with our Creator. We should see that even if we had the love of everyone on earth, this would be nothing compared to the compassion of our Creator.
As a result, we should be happy that the largest source of our support never fades and gets bigger in difficult times. The only way that we could become distant from our Lord is if we cut the connection ourselves. Even then, we should always remember that it is never too late to rebuild the connection.
Conclusion
We have now started on the first three steps laid out in the introduction. We have discussed some core issues surrounding our understanding of illness, the functions of illness, and some ways to adapt to illness. Lastly, we must apply our understanding of illness so that we can make our lives constant energy reinforcing our connection with our Creator. After all, understanding will do little for us if we do not put it into practice.
This final step is the most important and challenging, but it must be an individual quest. Each person has a different situation and understanding. This text can serve as a general guide and a reminder of points easily forgotten in difficult times.
We cannot hope to know fully which blessings will be given to us, in what form, and at what time. However, no matter what our present condition, we can always take comfort in at least one basic blessing: we have been created human and blessed with the capacity to form a connection with our Creator.
We should also take comfort in remembering that our Lord has infinite knowledge and compassion. Although our limited capacities may keep us from fully understanding it, God will provide us with what is best for us at every single moment of our lives.
The development of understanding is a long and gradual process, but it gives benefits at every step of the way. As we grow spiritually, our eyes will open to many signs of infinite wisdom. We will understand that illness, just like health, is a great blessing created for us by our Lord of infinite compassion.