(This is inspired by a true story told to me by a close friend.)

Carlos had a big problem. His 89-year-old grandmother had a device implanted in her brain, some sort of battery. As a result of brain surgery 25 to 30 years prior, she had lost her taste for specific foods like fresh mango, her favorite dessert.

Subsequently, her stress level grew irreversibly like a ticking time bomb. As she got older, she got crankier and more unreasonable, irritated by the smallest unpleasantries, like a motorcycle or tricycle passing by outside, or a neighbor’s dog barking.

As a result, his grandmother’s stress became contagious. Carlos developed stress worse than hers. His stress manifested through his jaw tightening and his teeth grinding loudly when he slept. At times, the sound was so loud it woke him up.

Later, he developed lockjaw, a condition where muscle or joint issues restrict the jaw, making it hard to open the mouth and chew. Aside from prescription muscle relaxants and a jaw stretching exercise, the doctor told him to control his stress level, be more patient and lower his intake of coffee.

But Carlos was a first-class caffeine addict. Friends nicknamed him “Caffeine Carlos” because he could easily down six to 10 cups of strong coffee every day, the strong native variety called “barako.” He even drank coffee before going to bed since he had developed an immunity to the effects of caffeine.

And so Carlos followed his doctor’s orders, except for the coffee part. He was addicted to coffee as much as a heroin addict was to heroin. The frequency of his lockjaw decreased, but it was still there. The doctor told him to totally stop drinking coffee. But Carlos could not do it. It was a dead end. The doctor referred Carlos to a psychiatrist, who failed miserably to cure his caffeine addiction, another dead end.

In despair, Carlos sought the help of a former professor who was a Jesuit priest, Fr. Joel. Carlos told him the history of his problem in detail.

FR. JOEL: All the efforts of the doctors failed to cure your addiction because perhaps your problem is more spiritual than physical. What’s bothering you, Carlos? (No reply from Carlos.) I think your problem is spiritual and the solution is also spiritual. When was the last time you prayed, Carlos?

CARLOS: (Hesitantly) I don’t pray anymore.

FR. JOEL: Start praying, Carlos. The Lord is the first step to your healing. The next is for you to distract yourself from your problem and focus on others, not yourself. Go outward, not inward. Are you close to your grandma?

CARLOS: Not really.

FR. JOEL: Try reaching out to her.

It turned out his grandmother was just waiting for Carlos to reach out and she instantly smiled, a long lost habit. The instant smile was contagious and the instant healing of a half-hearted relationship ensued. Mysteriously, Carlos’s caffeine addiction vanished in the blink of an eye. He would drink coffee occasionally, but he was out of it. It was a spiritual solution to his physical addiction.

There is sometimes a self-made darkness inside our souls. And it is in opening windows that the sunshine creeps in — sunshine reflected in the souls of others around you reaching into your cosmic realm.

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