"Life is Difficult"

The thing I love about books is it gives me the rare opportunity to have challenging and deeply reflective philosophical conversations with some of the brightest minds that ever lived. The one I am currently reading is called "The Road Less Traveled." The first sentence of the first page is simple, yet profound. "Life is difficult." Wow. Not too encouraging at first glance. One may ask, what would compel you to read a book that began with a sentence of that magnitude? Why not just read a book called Life is Easy or 10 Easy Steps to Positive Thinking Your Way to a Wonderful Life? We all know there are plenty of those out there! I'll tell you why. I was compelled to read this book because there was something inside of me, at the core of my being, that tells me life is more than peaches and cream or butterflies and sunflowers. Something was telling me that there was an incongruency between what I innately knew to be true and some of the fluff I have read in other books. Don't get me wrong. I believe positive affirmations, goals, and positive thinking is very valuable and definitely has its place but it is only part of the big picture. The author talks about the second law of thermodynamics and it's application to psychology. The second law of thermodynamics talks about how over time organized states will tend toward disorder unless an outside force is applied. Human beings are no exception to that law. Human beings will tend toward the path of least resistance, mentally and physically, unless we make conscious choices to the contrary. Life takes work. It takes a commitment to constant and never ending improvement. It is a constant battle between succumbing to the laziness that is at our core and the drive toward excellence the dually sits at our core. Without conscious thought and work, laziness will prevail and our lives slowly fall to greater levels of disorder and chaos. However, contrarily, with daily, no, second to second and moment to moment observation of our thoughts and actions, we can slowly turn this massive undertaking into an achievable outcome of love, peace, and gratitude. Does it take work? An extraordinary amount of work and persistence. Is it worth it? It's a challenging and deeply personal question that only you can answer for yourself. After all, life is difficult.