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Anderson Cooper, who lost mom Gloria Vanderbilt two months ago, became emotional during a sit-down with Stephen Colbert for "360."
Tragedy has visited Cooper on more than one occasion. His father, Wyatt, died when Cooper was just 10. His brother, Carter, died by suicide in 1988, at 23-years-old. Cooper's guest lost his dad and two brothers in a plane crash in 1974.
"You told an interviewer that you have learned to – in your words – love the thing that I most wish had not happened," Cooper began, before getting so choked up he had to pause. "You went on to say, 'What punishments of God are not gifts?' Do you really believe that?"
"Yes," affirmed the "Late Show" host after taking a beat. "It's a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering. There's no escaping that."
"I don't want it to have happened," Colbert clarified. "I want it to not have happened, but if you are grateful for your life, which I think is a positive thing to do, not everybody is – and I am not always – but it's the most positive thing to do, then you have to be grateful for all of it. You can't pick and choose what you're grateful for."
Colbert continued: "So, what do you get from loss? You get awareness of other people's loss, which allows you to connect with that other person, which allows you to love more deeply and to understand what it's like to be a human being, if it's true that all humans suffer."
Anderson Cooper gets choked up when conversation with Stephen Colbert turns to grief
There's a lot of good stuff here, coping with grief and loss and helping others to cope by reaching out to them. I don't think our society is as connected as it used to be, and it has lead to where we are now with all the shootings and divisiveness. The forces that are pulling us apart seem to be stronger than those that hold us together, unfortunately.
I would take issue with the idea of punishments of Gods. All living things die, it has to be that way. Can you imagine an existence where nothing dies? How could there be any birth then, and what would the value of life be then? As Colbert said, "you have to be grateful for all of it. You can't pick and choose what you're grateful for."
Tragedy has visited Cooper on more than one occasion. His father, Wyatt, died when Cooper was just 10. His brother, Carter, died by suicide in 1988, at 23-years-old. Cooper's guest lost his dad and two brothers in a plane crash in 1974.
"You told an interviewer that you have learned to – in your words – love the thing that I most wish had not happened," Cooper began, before getting so choked up he had to pause. "You went on to say, 'What punishments of God are not gifts?' Do you really believe that?"
"Yes," affirmed the "Late Show" host after taking a beat. "It's a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering. There's no escaping that."
"I don't want it to have happened," Colbert clarified. "I want it to not have happened, but if you are grateful for your life, which I think is a positive thing to do, not everybody is – and I am not always – but it's the most positive thing to do, then you have to be grateful for all of it. You can't pick and choose what you're grateful for."
Colbert continued: "So, what do you get from loss? You get awareness of other people's loss, which allows you to connect with that other person, which allows you to love more deeply and to understand what it's like to be a human being, if it's true that all humans suffer."
Anderson Cooper gets choked up when conversation with Stephen Colbert turns to grief
There's a lot of good stuff here, coping with grief and loss and helping others to cope by reaching out to them. I don't think our society is as connected as it used to be, and it has lead to where we are now with all the shootings and divisiveness. The forces that are pulling us apart seem to be stronger than those that hold us together, unfortunately.
I would take issue with the idea of punishments of Gods. All living things die, it has to be that way. Can you imagine an existence where nothing dies? How could there be any birth then, and what would the value of life be then? As Colbert said, "you have to be grateful for all of it. You can't pick and choose what you're grateful for."
