MEANWHILE...

 

Life is Hard

Which isn't to say that life isn't good.  It's just that deep down life is hard--the kind of hard your parents told you it would be.

Beds have to be made.  Bills have to be paid.  Hard things happen.  But we learn to live with these things, most often overcome them, and sometimes even come to appreciate them!  And through the hard times, we see that life can be beautiful.  

The beauty of stones that have been smoothed by a lifetime of small batterings.  The beauty that comes from rough edges being beaten down and of dross burned off by the refiner's fire.  The beauty persistence in the face of trials and tribulation.

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Life is hard, but that's a good thing.  It's how we learn and grow.  We tended to live in a bubble believing we could have everything we wanted. That's not actually healthy for us.  There are difficulties in life.  Overcoming those challenges are part of life's rewards/beauties/blessings...  There are things in life that are most important that can't be measured by money or pleasure. 

Hard work is good, and builds character.