In my effort to respond to comments for the channel Off the Left Eye, I enjoy a myriad of conversations. A recent one explored whether living a good life is hard or easy.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11
"The life that leads to heaven is not one of withdrawal from the world but a life in the world, and that a life of piety apart from a life of thoughtfulness (which is possible only in the world) does not lead to heaven at all. Rather, it is a life of thoughtfulness, a life of behaving honestly and fairly in every duty, every affair, every task, from our deeper nature and therefore from a heavenly source. The source of
this life is within us when we act honestly and fairly because doing so is in accord with divine laws. This life is not hard, but a life of piety apart from a life of thoughtfulness is hard. " Heaven and Hell 535
Easy and hard are simply labels that we slap on our choices, perhaps to justify our resistance or maybe to encourage ourselves to keep going. I have friends who are training to hike to the bottom of the deepest hole on earth. Not only that, they intend to come back up. "Hard" and "easy" are irrelevant to their dedication. The months of stepping out the door and pounding a trail are the way to achieve what they want. What do four letters matter?
Some of the more ambitious endeavors of my life involved a multitude of hours. I coordinated a children's program for three hundred cuties over three days. The thirteen marriage conferences John and I orchestrated were a culmination of numberless details. Yet attaching a verdict like "hard" to that effort sticks no better than a post it.
Maybe there are other inquiries worth exploring.
Is it worth it?
