There was once a young lad who had so many ideas about life, yet in reality he knew so little. Life to the young lad was mysterious and exciting. Full of possibilities. There was infinite things that could be accomplished and great time in which to do them. In his mind he could be anything he chose and he was awestruck by this.
One day he was told that there comes a time when one stops dreaming and faces reality. What is this reality? he asked himself. He set in his mind that he would never give up dreaming, that he would never let go of striving to make his dreams come true. He assured himself that others may have given up with life so easily, but he would never do as others did. I am different! he told himself naively. I will always pursue my goals and dreams no matter what others may say. I am my own person! I am to be great!
Life has a funny way of chewing up and spitting out dreams. The young lad refused to let life’s trials pierce his resolve. Instead, the young lad pushed forward, all the while getting a little older, and a little weaker. You see, life sometimes delivers huge blows, such as a permanent disability or a prison sentence. Sometimes life rips a person apart in one move. However, it is often more subtle. Generally, life has a way of slowly tearing a person apart. It is almost invisible. Little things happen over the years as a person moves away from youth and closer to their end that dampens a person’s resolve.
As the trials of life pass, we find ourselves getting through them. However, at the same time we lament that that we did not do it differently. In hindsight we realize we would have done things differently if faced with the same obstacle. This is why people generally get out of ordeals more easily as they repeat. However, it’s that first sting that hurts the most. The pain from that first sting lasts the longest, and as such we tend to let its effects linger in our mind. We lament and feel angst each time the memory is rekindled.
So many obstacles present themselves in a person’s life. Each one breaks the spirit just a little more. We don’t realize it at first. Sometimes we fantasize that everything will be ideal. But more things happen. We grow tired of these trials. If we were to live forever every person’s spirit would be destroyed eventually. One day we would all give up with life. If people lived over a thousand years, I would venture to guess that every person would take their own life. Isn’t that insane? Perhaps that is why we are bestowed with lives ranging from 60-110 years. Maybe anything more would be too difficult to bear.
We are weak creatures. I am not weak like everyone else! The young man cried. His life was going to somehow be different than anyone before him. He felt a little superiority when he said these things. He had an air of pomposity as he spoke. Of course, he was no better than any other person, he just had not realized it yet. In fact, he would one day realize he was actually worse than many.
Life circumstances may not always dictate who a person becomes, but they go a long way. Few people are amazing enough to not let the circumstances of life dictate who they will be. The young lad may have at one time been such an individual. But he gave up one day. He threw in the towel and screamed, I have had enough! Life is a beast. Every year that is added to us we realize exactly how disgusting life can be. The worship of youth, and the fall from that ideal deliver crushing blows. Age coupled with lack of time further coupled with the slow and painful destruction of the spirit combine to create a person who no longer craves that invisible goal that the were one day searching for. The young lad was misguided. He had no clue what it was he wanted, and when he got close to something, he realized it was something he never cared to have. In fact, it was something he feared greatly.
I am like them all! he admitted one day. It was not too hard for him to say. It was something that had been coming for months. He had prepared for it a while. He knew he would have to say it one day though. Each day before he spoke it the reality of it became apparent to him. He knew he would speak those words, and that others would make a bigger deal about it than it actually was.
I am like everybody else! He admitted. Nobody wanted to hear that. Maybe they were misguided themselves to think he was different. Maybe they never knew he would give in. He always said he would not. But his eyes were opened wide by the reality that his quest was always in vain. He could never hope to achieve that which no man in his position could achieve. He had his chance, wasted it, and now, aged and on the verge of natural death had no means to actually obtain it. And so what if he did? He was far too old to enjoy such things, best reserved to youth.
He let the dream die, and smiled. He smiled because he would soon be free (from law school), and he could do whatever he pleased with the rest of his fleeing life.
One day he was told that there comes a time when one stops dreaming and faces reality. What is this reality? he asked himself. He set in his mind that he would never give up dreaming, that he would never let go of striving to make his dreams come true. He assured himself that others may have given up with life so easily, but he would never do as others did. I am different! he told himself naively. I will always pursue my goals and dreams no matter what others may say. I am my own person! I am to be great!
Life has a funny way of chewing up and spitting out dreams. The young lad refused to let life’s trials pierce his resolve. Instead, the young lad pushed forward, all the while getting a little older, and a little weaker. You see, life sometimes delivers huge blows, such as a permanent disability or a prison sentence. Sometimes life rips a person apart in one move. However, it is often more subtle. Generally, life has a way of slowly tearing a person apart. It is almost invisible. Little things happen over the years as a person moves away from youth and closer to their end that dampens a person’s resolve.
As the trials of life pass, we find ourselves getting through them. However, at the same time we lament that that we did not do it differently. In hindsight we realize we would have done things differently if faced with the same obstacle. This is why people generally get out of ordeals more easily as they repeat. However, it’s that first sting that hurts the most. The pain from that first sting lasts the longest, and as such we tend to let its effects linger in our mind. We lament and feel angst each time the memory is rekindled.
So many obstacles present themselves in a person’s life. Each one breaks the spirit just a little more. We don’t realize it at first. Sometimes we fantasize that everything will be ideal. But more things happen. We grow tired of these trials. If we were to live forever every person’s spirit would be destroyed eventually. One day we would all give up with life. If people lived over a thousand years, I would venture to guess that every person would take their own life. Isn’t that insane? Perhaps that is why we are bestowed with lives ranging from 60-110 years. Maybe anything more would be too difficult to bear.
We are weak creatures. I am not weak like everyone else! The young man cried. His life was going to somehow be different than anyone before him. He felt a little superiority when he said these things. He had an air of pomposity as he spoke. Of course, he was no better than any other person, he just had not realized it yet. In fact, he would one day realize he was actually worse than many.
Life circumstances may not always dictate who a person becomes, but they go a long way. Few people are amazing enough to not let the circumstances of life dictate who they will be. The young lad may have at one time been such an individual. But he gave up one day. He threw in the towel and screamed, I have had enough! Life is a beast. Every year that is added to us we realize exactly how disgusting life can be. The worship of youth, and the fall from that ideal deliver crushing blows. Age coupled with lack of time further coupled with the slow and painful destruction of the spirit combine to create a person who no longer craves that invisible goal that the were one day searching for. The young lad was misguided. He had no clue what it was he wanted, and when he got close to something, he realized it was something he never cared to have. In fact, it was something he feared greatly.
I am like them all! he admitted one day. It was not too hard for him to say. It was something that had been coming for months. He had prepared for it a while. He knew he would have to say it one day though. Each day before he spoke it the reality of it became apparent to him. He knew he would speak those words, and that others would make a bigger deal about it than it actually was.
I am like everybody else! He admitted. Nobody wanted to hear that. Maybe they were misguided themselves to think he was different. Maybe they never knew he would give in. He always said he would not. But his eyes were opened wide by the reality that his quest was always in vain. He could never hope to achieve that which no man in his position could achieve. He had his chance, wasted it, and now, aged and on the verge of natural death had no means to actually obtain it. And so what if he did? He was far too old to enjoy such things, best reserved to youth.
He let the dream die, and smiled. He smiled because he would soon be free (from law school), and he could do whatever he pleased with the rest of his fleeing life.
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