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 our-  selves 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.