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 A new blog to contain answers to prompts |
Since my old blog "Everyday Canvas "  became overfilled, here's a new one. This new blog item will continue answering prompts, the same as the old one. Cool water cascading to low ground
To spread good will and hope all around.  |
| Prompt: "When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'" Sydney J. Harris In what ways and under which conditions do you think life can be hard? ----------- While I was in my pre-teen years, my mother got hooked on whatever Dale Carnegie wrote. Although, at the time, I shrugged this off as just a "do-this, do that" type of an advice, one couplet in one of her books caught my attention. Eventually it became ingrained into my mind as a part of my "How-to-live" roadmap. That couplet is, “Two men looked out from prison bars,/One saw the mud, the other saw stars.” So, throughout my long life, I tried to see the stars, although the mud sometimes rose up and to ignore it became impossible. Stars, mud, or not, life being hard is always something very personal, and also, time-and-situation dependent. It has no one-size-fits-all measure because it takes different forms for different people, while it depends on many external and internal conditions. Some live with illness, disability, poverty. Others live in war zones and other unsafe places. Still, the worst can be living through emotional and psychological hardships, like loss, death of a loved one, end of a relationship. Life's hardships can also show up in mental health problems in loneliness and isolation, and in one's social and family relationships. Some relationships, be it with parents, family members, or the significant other, can be toxic in very many ways. Added to all that, natural disasters, accidents, or sudden betrayals can turn a stable life upside down, in an instant. Also, some people become unhappy with shifting situations like losing a job, aging, failure in something, and lack of support and limited means. Since I went with "let me count the ways" idea so far, reading back all that I wrote, I now realize that yes, conditions can make life very hard, but what makes it even harder, is our own negative beliefs about ourselves, such as low self-esteem, hopelessness, and not realizing what we can really be capable of. Above all, despite all the conditions that make life so hard, it is important to cling on to our own resilience, hope, and acceptance of the hardships. Then, it is a good idea to admit and celebrate even the smallest of wins we might have been able to accomplish. In my case, for example, after my husband's passing, I couldn't sleep at nights. So, I gathered together a few didactic YouTube videos and learned to fall asleep again while listening to those with earphones. It was maybe a silly medicine, but it worked for me. I think even recognizing the work I did for myself helped me build confidence and a feeling of accomplishment. In addition, when life feels too difficult, it may be a good idea to talk to a mental-health professional. This may be necessary because such a person may be able to see the situation from his larger angle more clearly and pinpoint where to pay attention and do the work. Still, with a professional or not, the burden is on the shoulders of the one to whom life feels too hard to handle. In fact, it is never easy going through the painful ups and downs of life. Yet, we can make the unbearable, bearable. We can create our own healing. And we can face our difficulties head on, and go on living happily enough, in spite of life's unwelcome surprises. |
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