Anybody that tells you life is a chore is an idiot. Of course life can be a 'bitch', as you may have read on a god awful t-shirt at some point. It can be sad and cruel, real fucking ugly sometimes, but there is so much richness also, to be embraced and experienced, if people would only look for it.
Some people are genuinely unable to enjoy life's riches to a degree because of circumstance; be it illness, poverty, or some other injustice. For the severely unfortunate, life can be extremely trying I imagine. Take Fritzl's daughter for example; now that is what you call a raw deal. However the vast majority of men and women don't have such problems to contend with. It seems to me that there are people who actively choose a life of drudgery. Plenty of folk accept mediocrity; or worse in some cases; making themselves content with a gritty, often foul tasting realism. I'm not saying that we all should pretend we're awoken by butterflies in the morning, or that the world is even a nice place. But circumstances must be contended with and I firmly believe there are opportunities for happiness all around us, there to be reached for.
'Life is what you make of it' is an old adage, with a large degree of truth to it if you ask me. I don't want this BLOG to resemble something penned by Dr Phil but sometimes you need to think about these old sayings and process them in order to appreciate the rhetoric. How can a person expect to find real happiness if they never go looking for it? Unless you live on the Cococabana of course (you'd be a fool not to be happy around all those big Brazillian arses). I look around here and I see a lot of frustrated faces; grotty teenage mums pushing prams about, labourers tired from long exhausting days, old people cursing themselves for not fulfilling dreams. I feel sorry for them man but they only have themselves to blame. They should have made more of an effort. I reckon that most people who are unhappy, which is a significant number, could lead rich, fulfilled lives, if they just tried harder to make themselves happy. For me its all about having the right mindset and being decisive, and not waiting for your real life to begin.
It may take a momentous effort to find happiness; an emigration say, or a bold professional leap. In other cases happiness may not be as far away as first anticipated. Either way, it needs to be seeked out. Happiness is not something that happens all by itself. It needs to be constantly worked for, and when found constantly worked at, attended to frequently like a pristine bowling green. People who stay put in bad circumstances make me want to flush my own head down the toilet. Why don't you just leave that dick of a boyfriend? Quit that shitty job? Move to that new city? Do what is required to make your life better and more enjoyable, don't just wait there like a fool for something or somebody to come and save you. Nine out of ten times it wont happen.
The prized cultural theorist Michele Foucault described an 'art of existence' in one of his final interviews, suggesting that life should be viewed as a canvas for the individual to paint upon. What an outlook. Living should be a creative process where each day is viewed as an opportunity to enjoy, and better oneself. Read that book, buy that jacket, take that course. It is important to try new things in order to develop as a person. Why not view your life as a work of art; get imaginative. Better than viewing your life as a battle for survival.
Life is too short to regularly do things that you don't want to, too short to spend time with people you don't like, too short to be someone you don't want to be. Too many people seem incapable, or unwilling, or even worse, scared to resist the lives that have been presented to them, often local lives of little meaning or significance. I realise that not all of us can be professional mavericks or social bonvivant's. Toilets are always going to need cleaning, buses will always need driving. I get that. But it seems people fall into the doldrum's without so much as a yelp. It's as though people get to a certain age and believe themselves to be powerless to change things. They miss the starting gun and give up.
In correlation with Foucault's positive thinking, Oscar Wilde spoke of the individual's ability to recreate himself, and of the possibilities of self creation. His writings suggest that people can basically become whatever they want; so long as they develop and apply themselves they can transgress. Good news for all you bin men out there. If life is indeed a chore at the moment make it not so, because it doesn't have to be. Living is not something to be endured.
It may be that your endeavours turn out to be in vain, you may not succeed as you had hoped, your dreams may not come true. However there is definitely happiness to be found in pursuit. It may be a small change that enlightens you; the purchase of a camera; volunteering at a charity shop; the joining of a book club. If you feel seriously down trodden and think the world needs to change and not you, read into politics, become an activist, go protest. The possibilities are genuinely endless.
Don't be a passenger in your own life and let fine experiences pass you by because you don't feel your 'such' a type of person to do 'it', or that 'something' isn't 'you'. All instincts and inclinations should be seriously considered. Why not take some time to think about what it is that is going to make you happy? Then act accordingly. I guess its a question of whether you are content with your life. But if your reading this and it sounds painfully familiar, to the point where tears are making the letters on your keyboard stick together...well then I feel sorry for you. You must realise that currently you are not living at all, you are merely existing.
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