Answers

I was watching a BBC program about Madeleine McCann last night. It was about how the little girl went missing mysteriously without trace, and how at present, after 5 years, a conclusive answer to what happened to her eludes her devastated parents. Even today, her parents are desperately looking for answers. Answers to questions that haunt them, that have haunted them for five years now. It got me thinking about people and their quest for answers. We all want to know why something happened. Or do we? When the answers are easily available, they fascinate or intrigue us much less than when the answers are hidden or ambiguous. If everyone knows, if it is the ‘plain truth’, then it is easily forgotten, even considered uninteresting. So, is it the answers that we seek? Or is it the thrill of speculation that drives us? Would people still be talking about Madeleine had the answers been in plain sight from the start? On a related tangent, another thing that’s been nagging at my mind is what if not knowing is the answer? What if, by presenting us with unanswered questions, nature or the universe (or God) is trying to protect us? Are Madeleine’s parents better off not knowing what really happened to their daughter? Will they achieve closure, or will there always be questions, no matter what? Should the fear of what we may find out stop us from looking for answers then? When you weigh the courage it would take to let go of unanswered questions about loved ones, against the strength it would take to face painful answers…it’s a no win situation! As I write this, I am reminded of a book I read a few years ago – Lessons in Forgetting (by Anita Nair). An intriguing story. And absolutely heart-breaking! Probably that’s one reason why I’ve never recommended the book to anyone; the answers the protagonist unearths are just too painful. Is knowing essential then? Is not knowing bliss? The answer, I believe, lies within the subjective perception of each individual. For parents searching for the ‘truth’ for half a decade, ‘not knowing’ is a curse. I guess the only way to answer this question will be when the ‘hypothetical’ becomes the ‘personal’. God forbid.