Will We Ever Escape This Labyrinth of Suffering?
This week has been one of the worst in U.S. history, but maybe we’ll finally escape.
As a kid, I didn’t read much. But effectively enough, there were a few novels that grabbed my attention almost immediately. One was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. You might remember it. The other was Looking for Alaska by John Green.
It’s a poignant young adult novel written from the perspective of a teen named Miles, inspired by Green’s childhood. In the story, Miles is infatuated with Alaska Young, who finds Miles’ obsession with “last words” fascinating. She reminds Miles of Simón Bolívar’s own last words: “Damn it, how will I ever get out of this labyrinth!”
Within the novel, Alaska decides that life’s most important question is ‘how will we ever escape this labyrinth of suffering?’ Labyrinths differ from mazes in that labyrinths only have one possible path, while mazes have many paths.
In Christianity, labyrinths symbolize a path to salvation. It’s not so clear or transparent, but eventually, if one follows the labyrinth, they’ll arrive at God’s…
