The Gift Of A Single Breadth
Simone Riva - After Tragedy, A Search for Meaning: What a Plane Crash Teaches Us About Life, Fragility, and the Illusion of Control.
Question: Following the Air India crash, what does this tragedy tell us about the meaning of life and human fragility? What does it teach us?
Simone Riva: "While our first reaction to distant tragedies is often one of detachment, such events must serve as a 'great provocation' to question our own lives. We tend to live superficially, as if we are eternal, and this crash challenges that illusion. It forces us to ask what such an event has to do with us personally, shaking us from the belief that our ordinary lives are immune to tragedy."
Question: What is the deeper message we can take from this, and what thoughts can we cling to for an explanation, even if we weren't directly involved?
Simone Riva: "The core message is that no moment in life is trivial. If the passengers had known their fate, they would have lived their final moments with profound awareness. The lesson for us is to live with that same appreciation without needing a disaster to prompt it. We must recognize that 'no relationship is taken for granted, and no breath is owed to us.' The event reminds us that we are not the ultimate masters of our own lives."
Question: What is the significance of the one survivor?
Simone Riva: "The lone survivor acts as a powerful witness to the fact that we do not control life. Their survival is not a matter of luck; it carries the immense, almost unbearable, responsibility of bearing witness, similar to the experience of Holocaust survivors. From a Christian perspective, this weight is only bearable because it has already been assumed by Christ. The survivor’s existence underscores that life is a gift, not a right, and should serve as a 'huge warning' against treating any life—physical or relational—as if we have dominion over it."
Question: The song 'Imagine' by John Lennon says, "Living for today." This seems to connect with your point about realizing every day is a gift.
Simone Riva: "That is very true, but I would add a crucial dimension: we must 'live for today' in the presence of others and, for people of faith, before a God who is present. This prevents the idea from becoming a simple 'seize the moment' mentality, which can be an illusion of possessing time. We can truly enjoy life precisely because we recognize it is a gift that is not entirely in our hands. There is always an 'element of mystery' that we cannot control."
Question: In the face of such great pain, how can we avoid using empty rhetoric and say something truly authentic? How can faith help?
Simone Riva: "To avoid rhetoric, we must internalize the event by asking, 'What provocation does this bring directly to my life?' Though the victims are distant, we share a human kinship with them. We should, therefore, view this tragedy as a 'help'—albeit a difficult one—to 'verify what we are experiencing.' It is an opportunity to escape empty words by asking ourselves fundamental questions: 'What am I attached to? To whom is my hope entrusted? What am I living for?' This deep self-reflection is the only authentic response."
This Q&A is derived from a video interview and has been reformatted for simplicity.
Source: Youtube Video.
