Life: Good
I had an experience with a friend once, when she was in a pitiful, sad mood. I told her to enjoy life! She responded with, "Hannah, you don't know what life has given me." I wanted so badly to explain to her, "No, no, no. You don't understand what life has given you - what God has given you. You need to rethink that little statement you just made." Of course, I did not say those things to her. It sure made me think though. What a poor outlook on life!
Now, I recognize the people who have had broken hearts, or spirits so low they feel numb. I see the people who have cried and pleaded with their God to make the hurt go away. I relate to the people who cannot seem to escape the curve balls life throws at them. I have experienced these things. I have had my share of trials, just like everyone else. I am sure there are more to come. I do not naively look at the world with bushbaby eyes or rose-colored glasses. However, I have made the personal decision to recognize that, "Life is good."
"Men are that they might have joy." In my religious views, I believe that joy is defined as the potential to become like God. We must endure this life in order to become like God. Thus, by a = b and b = c then a = c logic, this life is joy. These religious principles may not apply to everyone, but this I believe. I love life. Yes, sometimes it sucks. Sometimes you get slapped in the face, or you fail, or you have your heart broken in one way or another. These are experiences that make up a person's story.
I have experienced a broken heart myself; it was possibly one of the hardest things I think I have ever endured. I didn't really know it was possible to feel such horrid, literal pain from something so...not literal. Have I learned irreplaceable lessons from this? Yes. Have I grown stronger as a person and individual from this? Most definitely. Have relationships, with friends and family I had to depend on, been tightened? Absolutely; in very tender ways. I do not regret. I cherish. I have much gratitude for the life I am experiencing. Life is good! Life is about experiencing the high rise of the roller coaster and seeing things in a new and beautiful way, then getting your heart broken and learning how to still see things in a beautiful way. Life is about getting curve balls thrown at you. You learn how to hit them out of the park.
However, learning how to do this is probably the hardest part. Just as I said earlier, it is a personal decision that has to be made. Learning how to accept the fact that you are human, and that it is okay, is not easy. Not only is it a choice you make, but it is one that you live by as well! My mom would tell me all the time growing up, that I need to choose to be happy. My middle name is Joy, so my dad would tell me to choose "joy." I would roll my eyes and sigh, but after a while their messages stuck. I am quite fond of my middle name these days. I choose not to let life get me down. Instead I look at it with an attitude that I will come out of hardships being a better person.
I don't want to look back at my life - my story - having never shed a tear. Life is wonderful because of it's hardships; not despite them. So get your bat ready, and hope that life pitches you the hardest, fastest, curviest curve balls you have ever seen. Even if it takes you a few times to get it right, you will learn how to hit those balls. You may walk away with scars or bruises, but over all, you will walk away a more indomitable person. You will probably even walk away saying, as you shake your head and smile, "life really is...good."
"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet."
James Oppenheim
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