the harder path

Throughout life we are forced to make many choices, decisions that can lead us down very different paths. Choices that can develop into patterns, and patterns that can define who we are.

Too often we are willing to settle for what is easy; we settle for the expected, and we expect everything to be easy. We bemoan that life is tough and unforgiving when really we should be embracing it. Life’s real gift is the challenge that it presents.

We expect everything to be instant and handed to us on a silver platter, but none of that is gratifying. We have convinced ourselves that we can find happiness through the easy, but it’s not sustainable. We seek short term solutions to long term problems. We look to fix the superficial and completely miss the deep underlying issue. The issue that is hard to face; the issue that is hard to accept, the thing that we try to avoid because it scares us.

We numb ourselves in an attempt to avoid feeling bad or negative. We choose what is easy in an attempt to avoid consequences. But if we numb ourselves to avoid the bad we also numb ourselves to all the good as well.

We find it very easy to blame others, when really the answer is to look at ourselves and realize we possess the power to fix our problems. People lack a belief in themselves leading them to think that they aren’t good or strong enough to do things that are difficult or challenging. But “worthiness is a birthright.” We have to realize that “yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging” –Brene Brown, Daring Greatly. We are scared to admit our flaws and let them be seen. We are scared to leap with no guarantee of a safe landing. But happiness and success come from a blind belief and desire. There is no straight line or sure shot, in order to achieve your dreams you must first have a willingness to try, and second, a willingness to fail but not give up. It's very scary to take the leap and you might have to fall hard at times, but the more you jump the closer you get to flying.  

It’s easy to hate, hard to love. It’s easy to give up, hard to see things through. It’s easy to be numb, hard to feel. It’s easy to be quiet, hard to speak your truth. It’s easy to be ignorant, hard to learn. It’s easy to follow, hard to pave your own path.

Life should be lived with passion; with a belief in oneself to be able to do anything that can be dreamed. One that is filled with hope and a thirst for something greater; filled with love for ourselves and others. There is no easy way to happiness, to love. It takes work, it takes time, and then it takes more work and more time. It’s an endless choice, a hard choice, but in the end it’s the choice that leads to connection, happiness, and love. So shouldn’t it be the easy choice?