School teaches an oxymoronic double standard of accomplishing things through luck and really hard work.
Some people mature, go out into the world, and choose to follow one of two or more paths. They work really hard, pull themselves up by the boot straps, and blame a lack of luck when something doesn't work out the way they wanted or expected it to. But the thing is, almost nothing that used to be guaranteed through hard work or discipline works anymore. For a few decades, you graduated high school, persisted through college and obtained a degree, and then you gained an entry level job with pretty good benefits and security that you could pretty much depend upon eventually retiring from at a pretty high level. None of these are a a given anymore, though, and hard work all of your life with no, how shall I say this... just allowing things to happen or trusting that things will work out and allowing yourself to be flexible is not a good balance.
On the other hand, there are the people who just wait for everything to come to them, who rely only on luck and conversely, never get anything done, whether it's hard work, or just something a little out of the ordinary that is a dream of theirs, but would take a little pushing and shoving to get done, such as world travel or learning how to fly an airplane and becoming licensed for such. This is the side I am learning to balance with hard work and perseverance.
I have also noticed that sometimes people who choose one path or the other tend to blame their lack of the opposite when things don't work out; a really hard worker who never quite made it lamenting the fact they didn't have the right connections, or even that they just didn't work hard enough, though they're worn to the bone, and honestly don't have that bad of a life, but they are not successful in society's eyes. Or, for example, a person who just went with the flow their whole life, going in whatever direction life took them, only to find themselves stuck, seemingly with no new direction or way out, and getting frustrated with themselves for not working harder.
Perhaps both of these examples feature a "character" that has come to a hard place, a down direction in the wavelength or life, and has forgotten that things are always in transformation and change, through outside as well as internal forces, and when things are looking down, they will inevitably make their way back up and vice versa.
There's a balance to be had between the two life philosophies, Faith with direction, diligent labor with an eye toward flexibility and openness. Sometimes one side works better than the other during a different time in life. During childhood, you go where you parents take you, do what your parents tell you, learn what they teach you. But in adulthood, self-sufficiency and responsibility is required, your own momentum will get you somewhere worthwhile, so one side of the spectrum dominates at different times. The key is knowing when to let one take precedence over the other.
Some people mature, go out into the world, and choose to follow one of two or more paths. They work really hard, pull themselves up by the boot straps, and blame a lack of luck when something doesn't work out the way they wanted or expected it to. But the thing is, almost nothing that used to be guaranteed through hard work or discipline works anymore. For a few decades, you graduated high school, persisted through college and obtained a degree, and then you gained an entry level job with pretty good benefits and security that you could pretty much depend upon eventually retiring from at a pretty high level. None of these are a a given anymore, though, and hard work all of your life with no, how shall I say this... just allowing things to happen or trusting that things will work out and allowing yourself to be flexible is not a good balance.
On the other hand, there are the people who just wait for everything to come to them, who rely only on luck and conversely, never get anything done, whether it's hard work, or just something a little out of the ordinary that is a dream of theirs, but would take a little pushing and shoving to get done, such as world travel or learning how to fly an airplane and becoming licensed for such. This is the side I am learning to balance with hard work and perseverance.
I have also noticed that sometimes people who choose one path or the other tend to blame their lack of the opposite when things don't work out; a really hard worker who never quite made it lamenting the fact they didn't have the right connections, or even that they just didn't work hard enough, though they're worn to the bone, and honestly don't have that bad of a life, but they are not successful in society's eyes. Or, for example, a person who just went with the flow their whole life, going in whatever direction life took them, only to find themselves stuck, seemingly with no new direction or way out, and getting frustrated with themselves for not working harder.
Perhaps both of these examples feature a "character" that has come to a hard place, a down direction in the wavelength or life, and has forgotten that things are always in transformation and change, through outside as well as internal forces, and when things are looking down, they will inevitably make their way back up and vice versa.
There's a balance to be had between the two life philosophies, Faith with direction, diligent labor with an eye toward flexibility and openness. Sometimes one side works better than the other during a different time in life. During childhood, you go where you parents take you, do what your parents tell you, learn what they teach you. But in adulthood, self-sufficiency and responsibility is required, your own momentum will get you somewhere worthwhile, so one side of the spectrum dominates at different times. The key is knowing when to let one take precedence over the other.
No comments:
Post a Comment