Life is a challenge. Anyone who's lived beyond the age of reason knows it, even those too young to explain it. The Church certainly affirms it, calling life here on earth a "vale of tears." Psalm 23 recognizes "green pastures" but also acknowledges the evil we experience as we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death."
I've been reflecting on the different ways a person can look at life.
- There's the ultimate pessimist who says, "Life's a bitch and then you die." They seem to ignore every bit of joy and beauty around them and live in perpetual misery. I know a handful of people with that outlook. What a sad state!
- Then there's the "life is a soap opera" mode which has the ring of truth. Webster describes soap operas as "chiefly characterized by tangled interpersonal situations and melodramatic or sentimental treatment."
