Hardship

What is a worse plight? The past you can't leave behind or the future you have to fight? How much does your past bother you? How much does your future frighten you?

We face trials on a daily basis. How many of these trials would you say are a product of your past? How many would you say affect your future? Hardship is inevitable. Hardship is unbearable.

I hate hardship. It hinders me from moving forward. And when i want to move forward, it pulls me in these two directions:

1. Down
2. Back.

How do you overcome hardship when it's hard?

Perception. A change of perception. I struggle to adjust my view on hardship all the time. Where I see obstacles, others see stepping stones. Some people thrive on hardship, it drives them to become a stronger more able person. But it does the opposite for me. It disables me. That's a constant hardship.

"To see a rainbow you must put up with the rain..."

Conflict.

Are you troubled by inner conflict? I think most of us are and we like to think we are in control of our feelings. But are we really? A person who desires to be kind and gentle to others can be overwhelmed with violent tendencies if a loved one of his is attacked. Does that then make him violent? Or does that make him protective? He has control and no control. That to me is inner conflict. As we struggle with deep rooted feelings, we begin to question not only who we are, but also why we are. We search inside ourselves for simplicity and closure. Why am I angry? Why am I sad? Why am I poor? Why am I White? Why am i Black? Each of these questions has an answer. Maybe. And that is inner conflict; having a query but no explanation. Becoming self aware of our personality and not accepting it. The desire to change, but not knowing why and how.
Conflict.

Gratitude

Thank You. It is a simple sentence and it's not that difficult to say. But these two words "Thank" and "You" are seldom heard today and yet they have such a powerful effect on the way we feel and the way others feel. If you expect to be given an apple, and somebody gives you one, do you say thanks? or do you say... nothing. Were these two words invented just for the sake of the lowly and hard done by? Could you imagine a King in all his might and Glory asking a servant to fetch his sword "Please", and on return saying to that servant "Thanks"? But if the servant were to ask another servant for a piece of bread he would say please followed by a humble and quiet "thank you sir". I have noticed that some people, young and old, have just forgotten about the decent art of acknowledgment and gratitude. You may receive a gift today, your boss may smile at you today, maybe just today, that pretty girl you pass by at the bus stop everyday and never notices you, may notice you today, your friend may give you his last $20 note till you get paid in 3 days, your cat may have finally decided to do their business in the litter box instead of on the carpet, the neighbors radio is broken and you can get an early rest without 30 seconds from mars blasting into your bedroom window... These are all reasons to be grateful, but their are many more we don't see... but they are there. Go have a look. A good look.