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“Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage — it can be delightful.”
George Bernard Shaw from his book “Back to Methuselah.”
Life is complex. It is rarely straight forward. Each time we look around we find that things have been either subtly changed or intricately woven into a complex tapestry. Is it strange therefore to begin to wonder the reason for this apparent random upheaval of life? Life is a character building exercise and a spiritual means of growth and learning.
Former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, (1975 – 1983) coined the phrase “Life wasn’t meant to be easy” in 1983. Using only the first line made it sound somewhat unsympathetic, perhaps in keeping with the persona of Mr Fraser. As far as it goes, this simple statement is infuriating. Think about it for a moment. Such a simple statement of apparent fact says so much more. Each day we are faced with a multitude if decisions and situations which we have to solve in order to progress through our days.
If we accept the premise this simple statement provides we are accepting that, irrespective of what we do, life is going to be difficult. It has cemented into our sub conscious the probability that we have to fail at what we are doing, or if not fail, then we will have a really difficult time in achieving our goal. We “have” to struggle.
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“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” -Thornton Wilder
All of life, from its inception to its last hurrah, can be filled with challenges of one kind or another. This isn’t simply aimed at an individual or a select group of people either. It can also include each and every country on the planet. Can you envision what could happen if each country developed a mindset that “Life wasn’t meant to be easy?”
We see on a daily basis the armed conflicts on a global scale, the individual and group murders, brutal assaults and acts of cruelty and terror on a major and minor scale, and if we accept the premise of this simple statement, it could be the single, most heinous excuse for every unimaginable horror which could be perpetrated.
Yet, it need not be this way. “Life wasn’t meant to be easy” because “Life is easy”. As Shaw said, “but take courage — it can be delightful.” I can hear the sounds of derision even now. There is no-one breathing down our necks to make life difficult. There is no-one telling us we have to make decisions which will ensure life be will be a struggle day by day. It is true that there are horrendous events occurring each day. There are people dying as you read this, some in the most sickening manner which could be imagined. Does it have to be this way?
Do people have to be forced to live on the streets, to spend days and nights with little or no food or warmth? Do entire countries or factions need to spend their days and nights contemplating the destruction of anyone who has different ideas to theirs?
you are always in my heart
“You connect yourself to the viewer by sharing something that is inside of you that connects with something inside of him. All you have as your guide is that you know what moves you.” -Steven Brust
These questions can reduced to an even simpler, single question, “Does this person, or these people, these countries or factions, have the right or necessity to destroy anyone’s life? We all have an unassailable right to life, to make our own decisions and choose whether we will have a life of struggle, strife and woe or a life filled with blessings, light and ease.
It can most definitely be challenging and so it should be. Anything which we find too easy to obtain or secure, to earn or to simply be, is rarely valued. It seems that we need to feel that we have earned our right to have a sense of ease in our lives. In this, there may be some truth.
As a spirit in human form we choose what lessons we have come to this place, our home, planet earth, to learn and also how we are going to do this. There are many reasons why these lessons may be so ‘hard’. There is one school of thought which says that the harder the lesson the more we learn from it and the less time we have to spend earning our “credits” in the school of life. I’m not entirely convinced it can be as simple as this, but it does make a certain skewed logic.
Perhaps I need to have a logical reason for why things happen the way they do. The shooting down of a plane of innocent travellers. The continued conflicts around the globe which create arguments on a daily basis – the beginnings of the next conflagration.
I don’t have the answers to even the simple question of “Why is life not meant to be easy?” All I have is the sometimes tremulous belief that life is….life. In all its good and bad, the beauty and horror, it is as it is. Whether it is meant to be or not starts to become meaningless.
As George Bernard Shaw said, “Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage — it can be delightful.”
Yes, amidst the horror, “life can be delightful”. I’m happy with that.
May all your days be delightful.
image courtesy of dontgiveupworld.com
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” -Elizabeth Kubler Ross
Blessings, Susan ♥
© Susan Jamieson, August 2014
Owls and Orchids 
Reblogged this on idealisticrebel and commented:
A great quote
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Beautifully put and written, Susan. I have delivered whole seminar sessions on exactly this topic but rarely so eloquently covered the issue. Congratulations on a brilliant blog. Ray 😚
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A great piece Susan.
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Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s quote at the end sums it up beautifully Sue. It is in the journey that we are made, and we create that. As you said, we do not appreciate that, that is given or easy to obtain. But with those things that become hard, we gain that appreciation, that gratitude, the grace and the wisdom that are all a part of building the truth of that love within.
And once understood, we begin to smile that smile of understanding, and know the beauty in a flower by the road or the laughter of a child. And our meaning in live changes and a new direction is taken, for we now can help others from that wisdom and make their journey a little easier by being the love we now are.
Beautifully written my friend, it was a breath of fresh air. Glad to have you back 🙂 Namaste
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Many thanks Mark – the beauty of it is that as travellers on the path, and one who stumbles often, I can, hopefully, be able to offer a helping hand if needed.
There are always so many questions in life and sometimes I wonder how much we would all benefit from knowing we can lean on each other. In the knowing that we can do just that, we can avoid so much of the hurt and pain we find ourselves immersed in. Nobly put….if my pain can help save the suffering of one…. would it be worth th learning? Of course the answer is – no, since we must all travel our own path and learn our own lessons or we have not learnt anything at all. 🙂
Do I detect a of wisdom peeking out at me there?
Yes, I must make fun of myself of I shall develop a swelled head and that we must avoid at all costs. I knw, or I should say I believe, we all have so much to learn, and in sharing that kniwledge freely, we can make a difference. Unfortunately, so many only na tot make money from their walk though life, and whilst we need to have money to life this life – thre are those who make an obscene amount sharing their ‘wisdom’. It makes me confused and sad at times. Where would I be – or anyone else, if the knowledge and wisdom which is easily gained – simply needing to be explained, was shared with a glad heart?
Or perhaps I’m being disingenious? Sometimes it’s hard to know……end
Susan x
Blessings my fri
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Well, apparently, we’ve already paid for the ride…so I’m going to wind my window down, let the wind blow my hair and watch the beauty of the world go by. Um…I don’t have any hair any more…does an almost bald man count, less wind resistance 🙂
Well said Susan. Much wisdom, and because you have come through much pain and anguish. Now if you could remove that stubborn streak that encouraged you to move house with much input from you, and nearly turned you into a teapot, you will be fine 🙂 But, it also taught you wisdom….pay someone else to do it next time. (I needed to learn too. After trashing my back from moving a couple of things I was out of action for nearly 5 weeks. Stubborn sods eh…just want a piece of the action :))
A great piece, thank you for the share. Mark xo
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A hope filled post, Susan. I kept hearing, ‘ I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden’. And, even if we had been promised that, there are the thorns to worry about. The entire quote from Shaw needs to be taken into account. And the last quote in your post encapsulates the whole. It’s all growth.
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Thank you – I will always hear that sing whenever I see that post now – a nice pairing I think 🙂
I remind myself that all growth can have its ups and downs and the ‘downs’ can be painful at times. Yet for all that I think they are the ones we remember first – unless of course the ‘ups’ are delightful memories 😉
Susan x
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“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”
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Too true, and despite the uphill and downhill nature of life, where would we be without it?
Many thanks for visitng, it’s always a pleasure to see you here.
Ciao, Susan x
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Susan – Many greetings to you – You truly have a cheerful and joyful blogs. Cheers; Miran x
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