Life’s a Struggle – Right?

I swear, since my two writing colleagues asked me to write a blog on Struggle, it’s been one hassle after another …

…. but then, one of the elements inherent in becoming an Adult which we’ve stressed pretty heavily in the ‘What Men Do’ Guide is the importance of Struggle.

We reckon, not only is Struggle desirable, but that it’s vital.

It’s vital because it creates the raison d’etre for the ‘Will to Live’ – one of the two major dictums of a purposeful life as claimed by the German philosopher, Albert Schweitzer. (The other is having a ‘Reverence for Life’.)

It follows, of course, that ‘Struggle’ is a good thing, as without it, Life becomes increasingly meaningless and a hum-drum condition. (I can’t take a daily visit to the betting shop as a part of life seriously – ‘my problem’ I realise.)

Actually, it scares me – the idea that I might reach a point when I’ve no reason to get out of bed each morning – except to take a piss. And then what?

Fortunately, as I work for a charity where finance is a constant hassle, the daily Struggle for one thing or another is relentless.

As a way of easing the regular tensions that build up, the way the place is organised is pretty loose. As a result, when I suddenly become aware that my current Struggle is greater than the determination of my balls to stick with it, I use that as the reason to quit for the day. I fear that I’m becoming a wimp, so before Self Pity and a lack of Self Respect creep into the equation, I go home.

Being one of the writers of the ‘What Men Do’ Guide, it’s difficult to write asserting the virtues of Struggle …..  and then discover oneself chickening-out form a challenge. I experience a sense of something despicable – the kind of thing one suspects politicians do constantly, totally oblivious to how we despise most of ’em.

I’m never going to be a Hero … and that’s a condition I’m happy to settle-for; what I’m desperate to avoid, though, is that anyone might conclude that I’m a phoney.

And maybe that’s the basic source of my own very personal Struggle – the incessant need to convince those I’m close to that I’m a solid guy who you can trust and who’ll make a genuine effort to understand when you come to me to talk about your own Struggle(s).

And I find it almost laughable that, the moment I’m finally on top of my current Struggle, blow me, another one appears crying out for a solution.

It’s crossed my mind (more than once) that this new Struggle is actually my fault … that it’s appearance is somehow connected to my natural curiosity.

But that’s another story……

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