Life is difficult. It is a bitter truth. Once we really see this truth, we go beyond it. Once we truly come to know that life is full of problems and pains, once we start accepting this vinegary truth, then perchance life is not that difficult.
Most of us deviate to this truth that life is a problem, instead we groan more or less relentlessly, subtly, about the atrociousness of our problems, our burdens, and sometimes our difficulties as if life were “easy”, or it “should” be easy. We voice our conviction, loudly or delicately, that our difficulties represent a unique kind of affliction that should not be and that somehow has been specially visited on us and may be not upon others.
What makes life difficult is the process of confronting and solving problems. Problems, depending upon our nature, bring in us frustration or grief or loneliness or sadness or fear or despair. These are the uncomfortable feelings, often too painful and sometimes equaling the very worst kind of physical pain. In fact, it is because of the pain that conflicts engender in us that we call them problems. And since life poses an endless series of problems, life is always difficult.
Even then,the process of solving problems tells us that life has its meaning. Problems call out our courage and our perception. As someone has rightly said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but, in fact, to welcome problems and to suffer the pains of problems. Most of us are not wise. Fearing the pain involved, we attempt us to avoid problems. We generally procrastinate, hoping that they will go away. We ignore them; forget them, pretend as they don’t exist. Sometimes we start doing unusual things to ignore or to forget the problems that cause pain. We attempt to get out of them rather than suffer through them.
But we never know that ultimately it becomes more painful than the legitimate suffering we planned to avoid. Sometimes avoiding such problems and pains, we build layer upon layer of neurosis. And when we avoid these problems, we also avoid the growth that problem demands. So instead of avoiding them, we should experience them. We should accept our responsibilities, rather than stay away from them with making excuses. We should have dedication to the truth or our promises or our words, rather than forget them. It is the simple contrivance, with which pain is confronted to a certain extent than avoided.