Compression and Growth
With quotes from "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas
Life is challenging. It is challenging to consistently exercise, to avoid frequent visits to the dessert table, to gain the knowledge and skills we wish we possessed. It is challenging to be the husband, father, employee, and coworker that we want to be. We all wish to do well in all these ways, and we surely have room to improve.
In Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel “The Count of Monte Cristo,” Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. He meets Abbe Faria, who teaches him many things on languages, culture, mathematics, and science among other topics during their eight years together in Chateau D’if. At one point, Dantes laments the imprisonment of Abbe Faria, imagining that he could have accomplished marvelous feats if he had less trials. The response of Faria to Dantes when asked what he might have accomplished teaches a lesson rarely appreciated in our day:
“Possibly nothing at all; the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human intellect. Compression is needed to explode gunpowder. Captivity has brought my mental faculties to a focus; and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced—from electricity, lightning, from lightning, illumination.”
The word translated as “misfortune” here is “malheur,” which is often also translated as unhappiness. Abbe Faria is not giddy about his circumstances, he just understands that they have helped to mold him into a better wiser person. It is easy to think as Edmond Dantes does in this story, that if only this debt or that sickness were taken from us, we could do so much more good. But sometimes the compression of our trials can be the catalyst that leads to us attaining our greatest potential. And though it is unlikely that we will have to spend our lives in a hell comparable to the Chateau D’if, none of us can avoid all obstacles.
Next time you find yourself in a difficult situation, replace the habitual “why me” and “if only” thoughts with introspection. Ask yourself, “How can these clouds produce enough lightning to illuminate my path forward?” If you do, you will find over time that your efforts to face your challenges head on have molded a new person; a person you hold in greater respect.
Quote in original French:
“Rien, peut-être: ce trop-plein de mon cerveau se fût évaporé en futilités. Il faut le malheur pour creuser certaines mines mystérieuses cachées dans l’intelligence humaine ; il faut la pression pour faire éclater la poudre. La captivité a réuni sur un seul point toutes mes facultés flottantes çà et là ; elles se sont heurtées dans un espace étroit ; et, vous le savez, du choc des nuages résulte l’électricité, de l’électricité l’éclair, de l’éclair la lumière.”
Link to audio:
https://open.substack.com/pub/wisdominbestbooks/p/10-compression-and-growth?r=4l1y9b&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true