M. Scott Peck opens his book, The Road Less Travelled, with the sentence” “Life is difficult.” He goes on to say that once we accept this fact as a reality, that we can move on and take responsibility for our lives. I believe in his words as there is a simple truth that rings from them. Yet, I also believe that the word he used, "difficult", does not do the hardships and the hurts of life justice.
I would say that life is more than difficult, that it is downright painful. We are born into the world through pain and some of us will exit the world through pain as well. Think about it, if even our entrance into this world is surrounded by pain (our mother’s while she is in labor) then how much more are our adult lives to be any different? Our lives are mixed with failures, disappointments, grievances, and at times horror. Life wounds all of us in some way; emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, or social. Regardless of where there is a wound, there is pain. It is true: we are all survivors of something. Some wounds are deeper than others, but make no mistake God wounds each one of us. What we do with our wounds will direct the quality of our lives. If we ignore them, we will become addicted to something in order to keep avoiding the pain. If we hide our hurts, we will always be suspicious and envious of others; we will hold people at a distance and then wonder why we feel so isolated and alone. We will judge ourselves and others to a standard that is unattainable. Even If we learn to tolerate our wounds, we may live with a constant state of dread or depression. We will begin to grow cynical, resentful, and bitter. But if we learn how to embrace our wounds, own them, and share them, then we may begin to live a life of freedom and connection.
Life will either make us better or bitter. There are no other options. We must make a choice- and not making a choice is making a choice. If we are not proactive against becoming bitter then we will eventually succumb to our pain and we will by default join the masses in groaning about life’s misery. Yet we can chose to give meaning to our pain, to let our brothers in, and become a better a man.
I would say that life is more than difficult, that it is downright painful. We are born into the world through pain and some of us will exit the world through pain as well. Think about it, if even our entrance into this world is surrounded by pain (our mother’s while she is in labor) then how much more are our adult lives to be any different? Our lives are mixed with failures, disappointments, grievances, and at times horror. Life wounds all of us in some way; emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, or social. Regardless of where there is a wound, there is pain. It is true: we are all survivors of something. Some wounds are deeper than others, but make no mistake God wounds each one of us. What we do with our wounds will direct the quality of our lives. If we ignore them, we will become addicted to something in order to keep avoiding the pain. If we hide our hurts, we will always be suspicious and envious of others; we will hold people at a distance and then wonder why we feel so isolated and alone. We will judge ourselves and others to a standard that is unattainable. Even If we learn to tolerate our wounds, we may live with a constant state of dread or depression. We will begin to grow cynical, resentful, and bitter. But if we learn how to embrace our wounds, own them, and share them, then we may begin to live a life of freedom and connection.
Life will either make us better or bitter. There are no other options. We must make a choice- and not making a choice is making a choice. If we are not proactive against becoming bitter then we will eventually succumb to our pain and we will by default join the masses in groaning about life’s misery. Yet we can chose to give meaning to our pain, to let our brothers in, and become a better a man.
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