Chapter 281

There is more to human life than comfort, entertainment, and the avoidance of suffering. Or there ought to be.” - From the introduction to  Faith in the Future  by Jonathan Sacks

There is an elegance to how Sasks states this. This could be an indictment against the West in General. I realized and experienced this in such a shocking way when we moved to Russia in 1994 for work. The contrasts were stark. Everything was smaller, darker, and less. Few comforts to be found. No entertainment to be had. And suffering was considered the norm. We moved into a tiny one bedroom apartment with three small children in tow and were flummoxed. We had lived in what was considered a small and modest 3/1 split level house in Pennsylvania prior to moving to Russia. The change was shocking.

The most basic things went from being the most basic things, to the all day everyday majority-focused part of the day. Shopping for food became a constant part of each day. And there was no telephone that could call my parents in America, And there were a million other inconveniences especially when the utilities would go off without warning for weeks at the time, no water, or no gas, or no electricity. In short it was like camping with no stores to buy supplies. I hate camping.

But there is where the differences come to the forefront, once you can get past the lack of conveniences. It is the one of the reasons that relationships are so deep and rich in Russia. It is one of the reasons that friendships are so durable and satisfying in Russia. There is more to life than comfort, entertainment and the avoidance of suffering. But you might have to go far afield to find it.