Alone

In the quiet of the morning there is time to reflect, to consider the opportunities life has given; as well has the hardships faced.  Each moment brings a new experience, but it is only when we are alone do we have time to understand what we have gained from each of them.

If we know only success in life, if each want is fulfilled and each need met without effort than we have lost fully half of what life can be.  How do you gain empathy or compassion if you have no understanding of the struggle that others must endure?  If life is only joyous and happy then the loss of a loved one, or the pain of rejection is never known to you, and there is no true joy because it is all you know and there is nothing to make joy better or worse than anything.  Each day is another day, nothing more.  There are those who have this problem, they have been handed great wealth, or prestige or fame without effort and we see in them selfishness, arrogance, pettiness and intolerance.

If, in life, we know only hardship and struggle with no happiness to balance it also is half a life lost.  If forced to survive hand to mouth, if living without hope, if knowing only pain and rejection then it is as if life is a dark tunnel that runs on forever.  Each day is a day to be survived, not a challenge to face and overcome, just survive.  There are those with this, and we see in them some of the same traits we see in those who know only joy.

For balance life must have fullness.  Success, no matter how small, should be recognized.  Pain, as great as it might be; endured.  Balance comes from within and it is within we must look for our harmony.  It is nice to be recognized by others, but if that is most important then that recognition will be fleeting and unsatisfying.  Support from others is wonderful, but if we look to that as our crutch when we are in pain that too will be insufficient.  It can only support us for a short while, and then ultimately we will be left to find our own way.

As modern science attempts to reduce the struggles of life is it really doing us a favor?  That is a question each must answer as an individual but for me, too often does it afford an excuse not to look within us for healing and growth.  If we are sad and a pill can make us happy then it must be a good thing – right?  If we can live high above the noise of the city, looking out to see only the lights and not have to worry about others, then why not?

Look within yourself, be you, recognize good and bad.  Spend time alone.