Struggle

Every day we find ourselves facing an inward battle, a struggle of sorts. It is akin to a mud war between a pair of sumo wrestlers, slipping and sliding while trying to get a hold on the other. The outcome is very uncertain but the struggle will continue regardless.

Struggles come in all shapes and sizes. From fighting for the right to move freely within ones country, to fighting for freedom of speech or just simply struggling to gain a sense of spirituality or understanding of oneself - it is war. Getting through the day’s battle can result in either victory or loss but irrelevant of the outcome you are left feeling battered and possibly bruised with either intrinsic or extrinsic damage.

Without a doubt some internal organ will be left for the worst and you are unsure whether you will be up for another battle. The war will never be over until we die. Then, and only then, while lying within the dark and eerie bowels of the earth, will we know the end result of the war. At this point, however, your brain is dead, along with pretty much everything else. Unless you believe in life after death (as I do) you are probably wondering what the constant battles will do to lessen the rigor mortis and stench of your decomposing flesh.

If these thoughts have ever passed through your mind, consider the following: what is it that keeps you alive? Sure the first thought that crossed the mind is something anatomical and while that is accurate it is also incomplete. What keeps our organs functioning? What stops us from simply saying enough is enough and letting our organs die off one at a time? The answer, as you have obviously guessed based on the theme of this post, is the on-going struggle within us. It drives us to achieve and be something beyond ourselves. Whether it inspires us to be better or worse is up to us. 

The great nature versus nurture debate is constantly scrutinised when determining the birth of the next Desmond Tutu or Stalin, but I feel while that is important in determining how we relate to the outside world, what determines our intrinsic happenings is how we respond to the battle within. Do we chose to fight for what we truly want or let our inner voice, be it good or bad, make the decision for us? Who we chose to become is our own making. A mother may raise her son to be a prince, but that won’t stop him from becoming a serial rapist.

As a person we have many facets that make us who we are. Through our battles we chose to let either the prince or the rapist flourish. As Aristotle himself said; "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" While every part in its own way contributes to the whole, we can’t be defined by these parts but rather by the outcome - the entirety. Everyone holds darkness within them and it is a constant struggle to keep it at bay. While some give in and let the darkness consume their souls, most of us chose to live, to put on a brave face and fight.

Despite the outcome, whether there truly is a life after death - would we rather live an empty life, give in to our basic instincts and forget who we are or who we could be; or do we fight to be everything we were meant to be, even if it means dying an untimely but meaningful death?