The hardest thing...

The question that always seems to wrap its cold hands around the throat of my thoughts, and strangle them till there is nothing left but discouragement, is How? In a practical world, this is a practical question. You must work, and work hard if you ever want to achieve anything. It is not false, that statement, but I believe we often interpret it in the wrong way, and we work in the wrong direction.

I do believe that we all strive for happiness, but through our efforts I fear we often miss that goal. We become bogged down with the past, contemplating our mistakes, while at the same time we tell ourselves that it will all be better tomorrow, that the future holds promise. We keep making “mistakes,” because our minds eye is looking ahead, while our feet are trailing behind. We don't notice the root sticking out from the ground, and so we trip, and fall. When we get back up, brushing the dirt from our pants, we look behind us and think about how clumsy we were, and how obvious the root was, and our foot slips on a rock, and we fall once again.
To be truly alive and happy, we must break this cycle. We must forget all of our mistakes, our misgivings, and the myriad faults that riddle our character, and just be our selves. We mustn't worry about the past, or contemplate the future, for we are already where we want to go. To be happy we must acknowledge this truth, but it will not be easy. We must work, and work hard.