We always want to tell people who are struggling that things will get better. Truth is, they might not. Life might keep kicking you while you’re down.
The pain of losing someone might never leave. Or maybe it does and you are stuck with the emptiness and guilt that you “forgot” them for a day. Sometimes we just can’t outrun the rain.
Life is filled with pain. It’s what makes the shining moments so great. We can’t avoid the pain. We can’t avoid struggle. We can’t avoid failure. So fasten your seatbelt because the ride is only gonna get more rocky.
We’ve all had our share of struggles. I’ve sure had mine. I wouldn’t change my life for anyone because every thing I’ve gone through has made me who I am today. However, I’m not sure many people would trade with me if I did want to. It’s been a tough run. But for me it never seemed all that bad, even when it was. It was just life. In fairness, much of it was self-inflicted so I wasn’t shocked. I’ve always been quite self aware.
I’m a pretty happy guy, relatively speaking. I’m not overly emotional so my version of happy and sad don’t deviate very far from each other. That said, I’m very content which is how I personally judge happiness. I’m content because I’m ok with struggle and failure and pain. I’m ok with knowing that things aren’t always sunny on the other side of the street. I’ve been financially well off and I’ve been broke. I’ve traveled the world and I’ve been locked up in a jail cell. I’ve partied for days with celebrities and I’ve spent quiet evenings at home with my wife and dog. All of these things were the same. None was better than another. Just experiences. *Although, if I have my choice, being home with Sarah and Bigs and in bed by 10 is pretty awesome.
Things might not get better. Things might not get easier. But that doesn’t have to define how you look at life. We can hope for easy and wish away the world. Or we can be grateful for the struggle and all that it entails. I, for one, am just grateful that I’ve got a bed to lay on and people who love me. Because things could’ve easily gone very differently for me. And I bet that you could say the same.
