May 10th

Struggle

Life acquires meaning
When we face the conflict
Between our desires
And reality.

We all have differing personalities vying for predominance in our lives. Some come out at just the right moment. At other times, our aspirations and our fondest hopes find little support in our environment. Only a few can truly say that they are living their lives exactly according to their desires. For the majority of us, life is a series of conflicts between our inner ideas and outer constrictions. How will we test ourselves against the flexing of external circumstances?Goals are important. Forbearance is also important. But the very process of struggle is equally essential. Rice must undergo the hardship of pounding in order to become white. Steel must endure the forge in order to become strong. Adversity is the tempering of one's mettle. Without it, we cannot know any true meaning in our accomplishments. Of course, when things happen without struggle, it does not mean that we did not deserve it.
A musician may compose a brilliant piece in an afternoon. An artist will dash off a masterpiece in a single sitting. A writer will write significant passages as if they were dictated. Each might say, "It happened so fast!" But in reality, it took all of them years of dedication and struggle to come to that moment of climax. Thus even the virtuoso performance is the tip of a lifetime of struggle, and the gem of meaning is set in the metal of long perseverance.

Personal Interpretation

For most of us, life is a constant struggle between our innermost desires and external constrictions. We can't always realize our dreams when we must hold down an unsavory job in order to pay the bills. We don't always have the time to devote to our pursuits when we must meet the needs of others who are dependent on us. Day-to-day life can be hectic and draining. We might often wish to do things that we simply don't have the excess energy for. Somehow, we find a way to do what we love, even if it is in short bursts, but it is often a challenge. There will of course be times when we seem to create masterpieces effortlessly, when the pieces seem to fall together without our thinking about them, when we are promoted and find ourselves doing the work we always dreamed of doing. Think of all the struggle we endured before these breakthroughs though. Even they did not truly come without conflict. The struggle is universal and eternal, and we must understand that it is what forces us to grow strong.