#5 Suffering and Sanctuary

I know that I made it sound like everything within the walls of the bell tower is supposed to be good and wonderful, while the outside world is supposed to be a nightmare that we have to put up with. I think it’s a little more nuanced than that and I wanted to further dive into the differences between the two worlds. Because the truth is that both are corruptible. Our bell tower can be a place of protection, or it can be our prison. Likewise, the real world can be a place of great suffering, but also one of deep, meaningful success. What’s the difference? Let’s explore that, shall we?

The main difference is in depth. Your bell tower is there for guaranteed, short-term relief. It will give you the comfort you need, when you need it without fail. That’s not to say that it will always make life all fine and dandy, it’s just that it will make things better, for the most part. But the problem with those short-term comforts is that they don’t last. As we see with Quasimodo at the beginning of the movie, short-term success and guaranteed happiness without risk make life more than a little dull. It makes us angst-ey, and hungry for something more. 

Real life, on the other hand, offers less guarantees. Once again, that is not to say that the real world is a nightmare all of the time, but it does not come with the guarantee that things will go as we hope all of the time. But the reward that comes from seeking out the successes of the real world is a deep satisfaction and a sense of purpose to guide us through those hardships. The bell tower offers its pleasure now, with a side of pain, while the real world offers a way through the pain to a very deep, nourishing pleasure. 

And we have to wonder: is that, ultimately, appealing? I’m inclined to think so because the greatest force that can hold us down is pain. And I’m not just talking about the scratches that cut our skin, or falls that break our bones. No, I’m talking about the aches of the heart as well. If we can find a force to overcome that, then we have become quite mighty, indeed! 

But we still need those temporary pleasures, because we need to find some stability. We need to find rest as we go on our search for deeper things. Sometimes the journey in the real world can get tiring. Sometimes we strike out one too many times and we begin to grow weary. Sometimes, we just need a little win. 

But from the way I have been talking, it may sound a bit like I’m poo-pooing the bell tower, describing it as some shallow getaway. Not so! We should be treating our bell tower as the reason to leave it! We should be going out there into the world to protect it, to defend it! After all, don’t soldiers leave home to protect their country? The Bell tower should be our bedrock, our cornerstone. Ultimately, the bell tower is our reason for living.

That’s how we should view our bell tower. I often fall into the trap of downplaying anything outside of work because we spend more hours there than anywhere else. I’ll do the math and think to myself “hmm, at best, I spend a good 20 or so hours at home, while I spend double that at work. Home is kinda silly and work is all that matters.” This is the wrong mindset. Just because we spend more hours in one place over another doesn’t mean that one holds more weight than the other. Think about the feeling of kicking your shoes off after a long day at work. For that matter, don’t we cherish the eight hours we get to spend sleeping? Or, here’s a good one: think about how you feel about your childhood room. Can you say that you feel the same way about the office you used to work in, or the school you went to? I think my point is made clear.

At the end of the day, the bell tower and the real world are linked in more ways than meets the eye. When we learn to see them in the right way, they create a strong synergy that elevates our life to greater, almost sacred, heights. So I pray that you learn to see your bell tower as a sacred space. That instead of it being a place to clock out of and crash, it becomes the territory you hold dear, one that you cherish because you have fought to protect it. Ultimately, I pray you see your bell tower as your kingdom and country. 

Until next time

May Peace be your Guide.