Does the fact you’re alive mean you are facing some challenge now, maybe not a fun, chosen challenge? Is this just the way it is?
I was thinking about my daughter’s career path the other day. It’s a long road and a challenging path and the rewards at the end of it will be worth it for her. But it is hard to know who is happier about her path – the daughter or the mother.
When she graduates she will have a PhD in Psychology and be able to set up a practice. Her services will be covered by major health plans. There will be no financial struggle for her.
Not like there was for her parents.
For years her parents faced the many challenges and struggles involved with being self-employed. Sure, we had all the benefits of running a home-based business but we had the stress that went along with it. In retrospect; it was all perfect, but it never felt like that on banking day.
I wanted more for her – an easier life! I wanted to remove from her life the struggle element that her parent’s faced and I rejoiced when she found her passion and it was one that came with financial security.
But then I realized; there is no such thing as a life without problems.
And I knew that her experience with our struggles had given her a solid foundation from which to enter the adult world with confidence. She knew she could overcome any challenges she faced. She knew because she’d seen us do it and, because she had been involved in our family business, she had participated in problem-solving.
My aunt used to say that if we all sat in a circle and threw our problems into the center and had to take one problem back we would all retrieve our own. She said it was because we knew how to deal with that problem. Do you think she was right?
Have you had one predominant struggle to face in your life so far? Would you like to toss your problem into the center of the circle and chose another? What problem would you toss in and which one would you take instead?
Photo credit: Helen Cook
