I’ve been thinking lately about the word “struggle.” It must have different meanings for people, and certainly has various levels of hardship. Some struggle with their studies, some work hard to “make ends meet.” Others find difficulty trying to understand dilemmas in their daily life, while listening to ever-changing problems reported in the news. There are those who struggle to live, maybe from a terminal illness, or dementia, or perhaps just to breathe.
 |
| 📷 geralt on pixabay |
We cannot avoid struggle. It’s a part of life, part of the process of growth. Being victorious over it certainly can be joyful. But I think it is also humbling, when one realizes that it takes much more than willpower. It involves help and direction from others, a willingness to work on problems, and a bit of hope and faith. It takes a belief in a Higher Power - if one doesn’t have that, perhaps their struggle can seem even more difficult than it has to be.
People’s struggles in life can be similar, some are way different, and certainly the intensity will vary. For instance, I had a painstaking time all throughout school with fitting in or feeling a part of others. Shyness was a factor, but so was being poor, feeling unloved, unwanted. Whereas, there were those who were awkward with fitting in but had encouragement and support and eventually integrated well. I do okay now, but don’t have an interest in being social so much. 😌
 |
| 📷Myriams-Foto on pixabay |
I think if one hasn’t had similar experiences in the level of intensity of certain people’s struggles, then they are less likely to understand, or even care what people are going through. It takes a higher plane of personal growth, where one has empathy, compassion, and selflessness to stand outside the realm of one’s own life to fully view the life of those who are suffering. Mother Teresa was certainly a great example of that kind of human being. The old saying, “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” certainly is a wise adage.
We hear stories that XYZ happened, but have no identification with X or Y, maybe with Z. We don’t see the whole picture; we don’t feel the range of emotions. We don’t understand, and rather than try to see or feel or understand by further investigating, we end up not caring. Not caring can lead to plain old apathy. And with that nothing happens. Nothing changes. Growth is stunted. And others still struggle. Days, weeks, months, even generations go by with very little change in people’s understanding and attitudes.
The person experiencing the struggle may have been learning from it, dealing with it, praying. And that person does grow but can still run into another level of difficulty when encountering the apathetic person, or even a whole society, that blocks them out.
 |
| 📷 geralt on pixabay |
No wonder change is so hard. Someone struggling needs the help of others. Society’s attitudes towards certain people - race, creed, socio-economic status, sexual orientation - affects not only the individuals who are trying to become accepted by others but also affects the level of society’s humanity as well. Thus everyone is responsible, everyone has a role in dealing with one another’s struggles. Discrimination and prejudice hasn’t changed as much as it could in being eradicated if only people would be willing to learn history, see the whole picture, feel the emotions of those who have struggled from hundreds of years to simply become equal, be recognized as a fellow human being.
We can all grow together. Learn. Read. Listen. Awaken. Theresa M
“The struggle of my life created empathy - I could relate to pain, being abandoned, having people not love me.” - Oprah Winfrey
 |
| 📷 cocoparisienne on pixabay |
