On The Light at the End of the Tunnel
It’s dark. Utterly, totally, pitch-black, can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face dark. There appears to be no light, no direction, and no hope. At some point in our lives, we’ve all been there. Whether the result of death, divorce, depression, or a series of unfortunate events, finding the way out appears impossible.
They say there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. This proverb has the valuable effect of offering hope in dark times, serving as a mantra which may help one keep moving forward day by day through difficulty. As a metaphor, however, it’s kind of a piece of crap.
The first and foremost reason the saying is so bad is that it implies if one merely stays the course for long enough, things will get better. To be fair, if you just keep plodding along, methodically putting one foot in front of the other, things might improve. On the other hand, they may become worse, and if you keep doing what you’ve always done the most likely outcome is things will stay the same. In this case, a dark start leads to a dark end.
Another problem with this advice is that life isn’t a tunnel, running straight and narrow with an easy path to the dim glow of salvation up ahead. Life is a bewildering and infinite series of tunnels, intersecting and overlapping, with no clearly defined route. Following a course others have taken may work for you — but it may not.
The problem with the metaphor also extends to the supposedly all-saving light at the end. Again, the implication is if one reaches this magical light, all will be well. Yet light, like life, is a complex beast. It can be warm or cool, soft or hard-edged, calming or harshly blinding. Will you exit into a dim and sad light, wander about a bit, and then enter another tunnel?
Now that I’ve torn this well-loved and often-used figure of speech to shreds, you will probably be surprised to hear how valuable I think it is. This is because we now understand the fallacy in its conventional interpretation — namely, the dangerous advice to trust in mere persistence, blindly moving forward along the path and hoping to stumble into the light one day. Knowing this, we can choose to do better and recognize that we need to be active participants in our future. Making hard choices and taking personal responsibility for their outcomes is far harder than marching mindlessly down the same road we’ve walked before. Unfortunately, this more-difficult road is the only reliable way we will emerge from the darkness into a happier, brighter life.
My recommendation to you — and to myself — is to defeat fear by making choices in the face of hard decisions, being bold enough to change course without shame when necessary, and above all never letting the status quo win. Light isn’t just at the end of a tunnel, it’s everywhere. Do these things and keep moving forward every day, and you will find it.
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