Is life hard?
seriously, sit back and ponder that question. think about these events in your life
1) Applying to college – will this define your first job or your career?
2) Finding a job
3) Relationships – if you haven’t been in one for longer than 3 years, you don’t qualify to answer this part
4) losing a loved one, death or otherwise – what if you didn’t have time to say goodbye?
5) figuring out what makes you happy?
6) dealing with a nasty world event, like 9/11, that directly impacts you
i don’t think life was meant to be easy. i didn’t even get into disease, war, religion, etc…
so WHY IS LIFE SO HARD? is it a test? if we learn and suffer and go through all of this, what do we gain? please do share because I am very curious!
#1 by Sherry Main on January 5, 2009 - 12:21 am
I grew up Buddhist… So I say yes, life is a test. It tests my patience, my love, my relationship, and my mind constantly. And often times in the worst ways – like your examples. But I also think things happen for a reason.
My Uncle treated us to a meal and jokingly called it our “last supper”. I thought he meant until I made it back to Japan again. Then he passed away suddenly. Thankful I had the chance to say goodbye, even if i didn’t know it then… I wondered what I was being punished for when I got stuck bathing and changing diapers as a geriatrics intern in college. Now I can take care of my aged grandparents w/ ease.
I’m such a pleaser… I’m happy if others are happy and satisfied, and I think that makes life way harder for me, but also more fulfilling. I’m guessing you derive happiness from the happiness of those who you care about the most too.
Hard is it to be born into human life, now we are living it…
#2 by Timothy Hsu on January 5, 2009 - 1:37 am
I don’t know how much, if any, of the Bible you believe, but Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life describes what the Bible says about the purpose of life. One of the Bible’s metaphors for life is that it’s a test.
Lee Strobel’s book The Case For Faith talks about, among others, the problem of how a loving God can allow evil and suffering to exist.
#3 by Adam Ainbinder on January 5, 2009 - 7:49 am
@Timothy Hsu -
thanks Timothy for the info. I used to know quite a lot more about religion coming out of a catholic high school, but a lot of that knowledge escapes me. I’ll look into your references. Main question I’d like to ask is if this truly is a test, then passing or failing is heaven or hell? we get one chance over the course of, I guess, 1 to 100 years?
I’ve often struggled with religion as a result. Lately, I’ve started believing in something different, where maybe we have several chances over different lives to try and fulfill our purpose. Complicated I know, but maybe at our next Chinese lunch we can discuss
#4 by Adam Ainbinder on January 5, 2009 - 7:52 am
@Sherry Main -
Sherry, everyday that passes, I’m becoming a bigger fan of Buddhism. Thanks for sharing with me. Your stories do exemplify the Buddhist principles quite well! It’s not easy being a pleaser, and that can certainly make for a more up and down emotional ride through life