Life Is A Struggle. And That Is A Good Thing

Who does not crib about the struggles in life? No one seems to be happy with what they have in life. A kid wants to be grown up, and a grown-up longs for his childhood to come once again. Unfortunately, struggles seem to be at every step of life.

If you look closely, you will notice that the struggles in life go even deeper. For example, every moment, we usurp the oxygen that some other creature would have inhaled. Every bite of the food we eat, we have prevented that from reaching someone else’s mouth. Every living creature is, in a way, fighting for its survival.

Even those who could afford more suddenly feel helpless in combating the tiny Coronavirus.

Why does struggle seem to be all around?

According to Swami Vivekanand, this is the essence of life. It is not possible to take the struggle out to make life perfect. The very definition of life is the struggle between something inside and the external world. Therefore, if struggle ceases, life ends as well.

Just imagine if there is no evil in the world. Without evil, the good would not exist either. Therefore, we can appreciate good because it can be compared with evil.

What if there are no poor in the world? If everyone is equally rich, there would be no incentive for innovation. It is the zeal to outshine others that engenders innovation. If everyone was equally rich with guaranteed income, no one would work. The competition is not between the rich and the poor but between the rich and the richer. Competition means strife. It means struggle. That implies that even the richest cannot be spared of struggle.

What if there was no death? But that is not possible. Life is not guaranteed, but death is an absolute certainty. Life starts moving towards death right after it begins. Every moment life gets closer to death.

But the existence of struggle does not imply doom and pessimism. Instead, our struggle is the catalyst that spurs life. It invigorates life by providing satisfaction after overcoming even the slightest of struggles.

Think about it.