By Kenneth Stepp
Have you ever wondered why life can be so hard? I certainly have. Why do I have to learn all of the lessons life has for me through pain? You see, I never learn while I am winning. And, I have never met anyone that has. Are we destined to endure before we enjoy? What amount of enduring turns into enjoying? Welcome to my mind, these thoughts do not simply run through my head, they have jet packs on them and they bounce off the inside of my skull.
I am an over thinker. There, I admit it. They say that is the first step to beating an addiction. I haven’t heard of Overthinkers Anonymous though. So, I’m not sure that applies in this case. I’ll think about that non stop for a few hours and come back to it over and over again. This is how my feeble mind works. And yes, I was dropped on my head as a child. I must have been.
Inspiration has been plentiful while on this journey to finding forever. And on day that inspire me, I have to think about a few issues that plague most everyone. Emotional pain, how do we cope with it? This is the query that comes to mind when my heart and mind open at the same time. Try as I might. It does happen, in spite of my valiant efforts to squash them.
Love, or at least real, unconditional, limitless love, always comes with pain. It’s as if they are partners or something. You would think I would see love coming and duck. Nope, not me. I open my arms wide and embrace it. And do you know why? Because this time it will be different. I just LOL’d. You should have as well. I’m a science guy. In science if you can reproduce something over and over again it proves whatever it was conclusively from theory to fact. In love however. It still does, but we can’t comprehend that until we are in pain. Go figure, I believe I have proven that the onset of love lowers the IQ by half. Prove me wrong. I LOL’d again.
Us humans are wired to desire, and search for love. I believe that with all of my damaged heart. Why else would we continue on this vicious cycle? It’s like diving head first into a tree chipper. You should know what’s going to happen. But if you are doing it. Obviously you just can’t grasp the concept. Plus most tree chippers are very attractive to men. Some even have John Deere stickers on them. So, I get that.
To jump back to the serious side for a moment. I believe that real love, not third date “I love you” stuff. I mean the kind that never dies, doesn’t see faults, and causes trust where none existed before kind of love. I believe it has the power to heal every hurt. To cleanse the cobwebs from our hearts and inject us with life saving power to live on yet another day. It heals all things. The power of love is a power that is universal. When it exists, it really will be alright. I grew up hearing, “God is love”. I actually believe that now. Unlike as a child when I was told to accept it because “I was suppose to and everyone does”. I have lived it and know it’s true. So, continue your journey if you haven’t found it. Hold on with all you have if you have. If not. Enjoy the journey as best you can. Hug a lot, smile every chance you get, and for goodness sakes. Be yourself.
Thank you for the laughs, I enjoyed the irony and humor of this article. Thank you for sharing, its refreshing to see you write a little on the lughter side. I do agree, always be the best you that you can be and patience will bring happiness.
Thank you for your comment Arlene. And thank you for taking time to read about my life and thoughts. I’m usually a very happy upbeat guy. Life gets tough without it.
I certainly have pondered the same thing. Even with all the physical challenges I’ve been through over the past few years. I’ve never been one to say, why me. Because ultimately the real answer to that question is why not me. Schtuff happens, Good bad and ugly. I finally have surrendered myself to the process. I obviously have schtuff to learn and need to grow as a human being. It is what it is, and this too shall pass have become my new mantras,
Thank you Lisa. We all face our giants. Some are just more obvious than others. Every day will have trials. The goal is to be joyful on those days too.