I always hear people say that “life is hard.”  But the word “hard” just isn’t adequately descriptive.  My life is wondrous, it’s tragic, it’s unyielding, it’s rapturous, it’s cumbersome, it’s astonishing, it’s fortuitous, and it’s absolutely captivating.  Life, to me, is an utter and complete conundrum.

Am I doing “life” how it’s supposed to be done?  Is there a predefined way that one should travel through the continuum of our own existence so as to gain the most satisfaction?  Am I fulfilling my obligations as a woman, a family member, a citizen, a human?   I suppose the self-help literary industry relies heavily on these types of existential questions to stay in business.   As I continue wondering about various transcending empirical issues, I’ve added my favorite paragraph-turned-poem, for your reading and contemplative enjoyment.

Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us;
It’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.