The struggle is real.
One of the greatest illusions that we fall prey to is also one of the most insidious. I say that, because it robs so many people of the truth of their lives, and leaves them questioning themselves, their surroundings and the very nature of life itself.
Sometimes they will even question their very worth as a human being, as a soul, just because they misunderstand one very simple fact of life.
Everyone suffers, everyone has it hard.
‘But wait’ you say, eager to point out where I am wrong…. ‘What about <inset name here>? They seem to have it really easy’. To which I’ll reply ‘how little do you know them’. Because honestly, I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have problems.
From the millionaire who struggles with crushing self esteem issues to the beautiful woman who is afraid that she will never be realized for who she is, not what she looks like.
We all have problems.
Someone once commented on this work, and said how wonderful my life must be because I seem to have it all figured out. I wondered if they had ever read anything I’ve written.
Because trust me, most of my experience, and whatever little wisdom I may have obtained, has come through some really hard things, and yet when I look around me, I also realize that I have had it very, very easy compared to many.
I have yet to find anyone who has made it through without problems and struggles.
And that’s really the whole point of today’s piece, to help you understand that the struggles you face are not a sign of your weakness, your unworthiness or even your uncleanness (if you think of it in that way).
The struggles you face are a sign of something far more profound, and far more inspiring than anything that you could ever imagine.
It’s a sign that you are human.
Could some of your problems be the result of your failures… of course they could be. Some of mine are. I’m facing a huge problem right now, one of absolutely immense proportions, that is a result of one of my failures.
But the truth is that my ‘failure’ didn’t occur in a vacuum of perfection that indicates something of negative judgment against me. This ‘failure’ occurred as the result of a long series of unfortunate incidents, choices made in ignorance, and responses to trauma that was never of my choosing.
Had I ever known the outcome of the choices I made so long ago, I would never be where I am today.
But in life, we don’t get to know all the answers up front.
All we can do is make the best choice we can in the moment that we have to make it, and then live with the consequences. That’s where the struggle comes in, because sometimes we choose the wrong path, and we have to walk the road that we chose in a moment of imperfect judgment.
We struggle to live, either with the outcome of a decision, or with the effects of the impersonal nature of a very determined universe.
The point is, we all struggle.
So today, I invite you to cast off your feelings of inadequacy because you struggle, and take all that emotional energy and use it to fight harder against the trials that beset you.
Know that the difficulty you face is not a reflection on who you are as a person, but who are as a species.
We’re all messed up, some just hide it better than others.
Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings