Why is life so easy for some people and so difficult for others?

[Audie]

Lucky or unlucky star

 

[osgart]

I just want to say well done, I love your heart.



Regards Tony

Hey thanks Tony, you are all heart!

 

[Trailblazer]

If this guidance was not available, how can we be brought to account for our deeds?

I guess you are referring to the Guidance we get from the Messengers of God.

“The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying Their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High. The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest. Through them the clouds rain their bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits. All things must needs have a cause, a motive power, an animating principle. These souls and symbols of detachment have provided, and will continue to provide, the supreme moving impulse in the world of being.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 156-157​

 

[Trailblazer]

There are two approaches to suffering in this world....

1) Wait for it to find you. These people look happy for a long time until their suffering catches them. They avoid trying to take matters into their own hands so they are free to focus on lifes little pleasures. They are more likely to develop addictions and fall into stale relationships. They dont ask too many questions.

2) Follow your bliss. These people look for what would be most or at least more fulfilling in their life. They tend to face suffering or take the risk of suffering in order to attain some personal goal or insight. They may frequently or infrequently suffer deprivations of a practical nature making their lives seem clumsy compared to the first type. They make problems for themselves...but achieve great things to the satisfaction of their sense of personal meaning.

I agree these are two choices, or categories of people. However, I observe a third category which is kind of similar to the first category, but not exactly the same:

3) These people look happy for a long time and suffering never catches them. They deal with life as it comes along and they take matters into their own hands. They focus on life's big and little pleasures. They do not develop addictions and they have good relationships. They don't ask too many questions because they are happy with a predictable settled kind of life.

I would say that I fall into category 2) and my life seems clumsy compared to those in category 3). Those who reside in category 3) think I create my own problems and don't understand why I am not grinning ear to ear all the time, why I seem to have constant problems. Some of them think I create my own problems just so I won't be bored, but what is really happening is that I take risks and then I have problems I have to resolve. By contrast, they live such a controlled and ordered existence that they cannot imagine having a life like mine.

 

[Trailblazer]

I just want to say well done, I love your heart.



Regards Tony

You and me both.

 

[sealchan]

I agree these are two choices, or categories of people. However, I observe a third category which is kind of similar to the first category, but not exactly the same:

3) These people look happy for a long time and suffering never catches them. They deal with life as it comes along and they take matters into their own hands. They focus on life's big and little pleasures. They do not develop addictions and they have good relationships. They don't ask too many questions because they are happy with a predictable settled kind of life.

I would say that I fall into category 2) and my life seems clumsy compared to those in category 3). Those who reside in category 3) think I create my own problems and don't understand why I am not grinning ear to ear all the time, why I seem to have constant problems. Some of them think I create my own problems just so I won't be bored, but what is really happening is that I take risks and then I have problems I have to resolve. By contrast, they live such a controlled and ordered existence that they cannot imagine having a life like mine.

What is amazing to me is how anyone can seem satisfied with 1 or even 3. I am a 2 as well.

I suspect your 3s of being closet 1s who fear the thrill and danger of 2-endless but hide it well.

One of the things this OP makes me think of is how powerful the persona (the part of our personality that we show to others) is at masking what is going on inside a person.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

One of the things this OP makes me think of is how powerful the persona (the part of our personality that we show to others) is at masking what is going on inside a person.

That is such a powerful statement and is reflected in a picture I saw posted the other day;

Regards Tony

 

[Trailblazer]

According to Hindu and Buddhist perspectives, desire and attachment towards sensory experiential states cause the embodiment of beings within the material realm (i.e. in physical bodies), thus making those beings subject to the continuous flux of physical phenomena. The greater one's attachment, the lesser is one's freedom from the vagaries of physical existence (degree of freedom goes from say insects, animals, humans...then the spirits and the gods). This physical flux (nature) is amoral and flows by its own rules...like a torrential stream. We embodied beings are like people stuck in boats riding this torrent as far as our abilities allows, sometimes floating and sometimes sinking. And so on..from birth to birth. The solution..for the Buddhists is to see the true nature of this flux and its inherent emptiness of either essence and value...and thus become free from its bondage. The solution...for the Hindus is the realize one's true self as an aspect of the supreme Brahman that transcends this flux of the world and thus go beyond it. As long as we do not make the effort to proceed towards either of these two paths...the suffering caused due to being trapped in the flux of nature will haunt us through all our births and deaths.

I love Buddhist and Hindu beliefs. You have stated this a bit differently but the Buddhist and Hindu views about the physical world, attachment, bondage, suffering and being trapped in the flux of nature are not much different from the Baha’i views.

I really like this – “We embodied beings are like people stuck in boats riding this torrent as far as our abilities allows, sometimes floating and sometimes sinking.” Right now I am sinking under the weight of the world so that is all I have time to say, but I might come back later.