ADAPTABILITY TO ADVERSE SITUATION

 Adaptability is a word that itself bears connotations of something that is unpleasant, which man is compelled to accept. And this most people do it with a sense of toleration rather than acceptance. But I would definitely say that adaptability is a positive attribute of man. Because this can be said with almost certainty, that there perhaps is no human being on earth who has never faced an adverse situation in life.  There could be a number of reasons why adverse situations come up. One reason is due to an error in judgment, the fall out of which bounces back on the person who took the decision. The other could be because of the wrong judgment of one person, the other person is subjected to an adverse situation. Since both of these types are human-related they are avoidable. The other major ones are due to natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, tornados, or epidemics which are obviously all beyond human control. The third type could be due to the loss of a loved one (in close relation or a friend) that might have happened due to whatsoever reason it may have been. And is the one that affects individuals most severely. Adaptability or acceptance of such a loss is the one certainly most difficult of all.  And so now let us focus on this type of situation, though the situation might have been due to reasons beyond anybody's control. Here, I am reminded of the book "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl an Austrian Psychiatrist. In this book, he has said the following words.

            WHEN WE ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO CHANGE A SITUATION.

            - WE ARE CHALLENGED TO CHANGE OURSELVES.

                                     -------Viktor Frankl

This person during World War II was subjected to enormous torture in a Nazi concentration camp. In this camp, he lost his father, mother, brother, and wife. They were all subjected to the gas chamber. But even after this, he survived with utmost grace and fortitude. His above quote is a reflection of all that he faced there, but even then did not loose hope and meaning in life. His has been a case of facing adversity stretched to the extreme which a normal man would unlikely face. But then what is the acceptable solution to all these that could appeal to a common man in an adverse situation. Well, Buddha has a solution that is simple yet profoundly meaningful. He says

                            ALL THINGS ARISE AND PASS AWAY.

                                                      ----------  Buddha.

What he precisely means by these simple words, is that it will pass away with the flow of time. This is because everything in this world is transient and hence impermanent. And so passes away with time.  Man fails to realize this profound truth and clings to the unpleasant event which brings pain and suffering. Learning to realize this truth is the only way to overcome any type of adversity in life.