One of the most irritating things, is when people say you’re so lucky! to someone who has worked their butt off to make it to where they are. It’s one thing to be born into privilege, and another thing to walk the long, hard road on bare feet.
When tossed in my direction, the prompt is my nomadic lifestyle, and the opportunity to travel. But I don’t travel out of luck; I chose to. And it costs me, like it does everyone else who makes sacrifices to walk the grey line in life.
I sacrificed my privacy, my pets, my full time job, a steady income, a bit of comfort, and a lot of items of sentimental value I had acquired over the years — just so I could take off whenever I want to.
That’s not luck. I can explore the world I live in, because I took risks — and so can you. This is as true about leaving home and familiarity behind, as it is about any other venture that begins with uncertainty.
The Struggle
Yesterday, while hiking at Arabia Mountain along the Atanta PATH, I saw a tiny ant, struggling to move a large butterfly wing, several times his size, all by himself. It seemed an impossible task, but he would not give up.
Long after I returned home, I remembered the ant and his parallel to many of us; dragging butterfly wings too many times our size, in hopes of success. No matter how successful a person may seem, or how perfect their lives, we’re all searching for something — all persevering.
No one has it all. You win some and you lose some. But sometimes we become so daunted by the possibility of losing that we stop struggling to win. We become complacent and lazy and accept the hand we’ve been dealt.
We become jaded.
The Risk
When you feel the darkness creeping in, telling you it can’t be done, and you won’t succeed, or you’ll get hurt, so why bother — remember the ant and the butterfly wing. I’m not sure he ever made it home with his prize, or if his loved ones perhaps rallied to his side, but his ambition was commendable.
Life isn’t always about winning, or the end-goal. It’s about living with intention from day to day. It’s about doing the things we love, with the people we love. It’s about remembering what’s important. It’s making the sacrifices it takes to thrive, instead of just making it through the day, and going through the motions.
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Take a chance.
Win a few and lose a few.
But whatever you do… make them count.
Thanks for your brief but very wise post and your encouragement.
Every one of us need it.
You are right, sometimes we need to copy animals.
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you were encouraged by my post. We all need a boost sometimes.