On struggles

Maybe it’s the beautiful weather. Maybe it’s because I’ve been kind of miserable myself, lately. But I find myself considering the universal temptation we all have to be negative, to be self-involved and hate our daily grind in the face of all of our blessings. It’s easy to get lost in the struggle, to lose ourselves in the moment and forget the things that make life worth living. But so often—so overwhelmingly often—I see people who have had so much come easily to them be the most miserable. Maybe I’m generalizing, but Facebook and social media in general has made it abundantly clear that too many people do not take the chance to look at their lives and realize how lucky they are. I wish more people would, the world would be better for it.

Perhaps it’s because of the things I’ve seen, the trips I’ve taken, and the life I’ve lived that has allowed me to have this perspective. But I can’t help but feel bad for those who have everything come so easily to them and are still miserable. I’ve seen poverty firsthand, I’ve talked to people who have almost nothing and still cling to the small things that make life worth living. But it doesn’t even need to be so extreme as that.

We all have our issues, I’m not denying that. Whether that’s loneliness, illness, schoolwork, sitting next to the person you’re crazy about and not being able to say anything.  There’s death and moving away and break-ups and fights with friends. Part-time jobs and full-time careers. They all have their pains, but you know what they have in common? They make you stronger in the end.

In my own life, I’ve had to fight to be healthy, to make friends, to find some place in this world that is a place to belong. It makes me all the more grateful for the victories. I’m not sick right now, I’m in college, I grew up in a neighborhood that could afford to educate me, I have an amazing family.  For all of the years of anger and stress and bitterness that went along with those fights…I wouldn’t trade any of it in for an “easier” life. I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now, I wouldn’t be able to be thankful for this, perhaps brief, period of health and time spent with friends, even if that too is still an ongoing struggle.  I wouldn’t be able to see and appreciate all of the great things I have if I didn’t have to work so hard to gain them. The struggle is a part of life…it’s a beautiful part of life.  I am lucky and I am blessed enough to be in college to be able to be stressed about it. I have people in my life I care about enough to stress over.

And if you took the time to stand back and survey your own life, what would you see at the end of those struggles? I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the end, the profoundly wonderful memories didn’t outweigh the unpleasant ones.  So step outside into the sun today and think about those things that make today a day worth being thankful for. I know I will.