struggle

Nothing worth having is ever easy. This is true of just about everything in life. I don't know whether it is because the effort makes you appreciate the prize, or just because it is one of the simple ironies of life.

Maybe it’s just a life lesson. People who never reach for the brass ring, who never try to break out of the safest mold, do they really live? What exactly is it to experience life to the fullest, and does it really matter?

About two times a week (oh, how I wish I was exaggerating) I ask myself why I am here and what I want to leave behind. I question what I contribute to the greater good. This level of self-evaluation is good for many things. I am often in a good mood, and try to be genuine and giving to people I know. I am a firm believer in karma, and believe that all kindness in the world starts in just one person.

I also tend to look around to see how the rest of the world copes with the existential dilemma. Then I see Paris Hilton, and realize people do not necessarily worry about these things. She definitely has quite a variety of experiences, but I have to wonder if any of the beauties and mysteries of life are seen with any depth or complexity when a life is so lacking of sincere effort. I also mourn the misuse of her level of fame. You look at someone like Oprah, whom I believe genuinely makes an effort to improve the lives of others. That seems to me to be the other end of the spectrum. Quite the better end, I would think.

Some people may not live life fully because they choose not work for it; some will not because without the effort the flavor is flat and the colors dull; some cannot because they are afraid to believe that they are deserving.