When I think about the sad reality of life, the fact that after all the hustling and struggles we put in, we will still leave everything behind one day, it really makes me question if it’s all worth it. We spend our whole existence trying to make things work, trying to better our lives in the most comfortable way, for ourselves and for the people we love. Then one day, we take our last breath, and the memory of everything we’ve acquired fades. It almost feels funny, because years of stress and effort suddenly look like a movie that rushed to its final scene.
Yet even with that knowledge, we don’t stop. We keep pushing. We wake up every morning and step out to continue the hustle with all the determination we can gather. And the truth is, no matter how everything ends, the little years we have still need to be lived and lived well. That’s what I tell myself. I may not live forever, but the time I have is still mine, and I want to live meaningfully. I want to enjoy whatever good life has to offer, and accept the challenges that come with it. I want food on my table, comfort when I need it, and the ability to take care of myself. Life is already hard, but knowing I won’t live till eternity won’t stop me from seeking ways to make the life I have now better. Maybe the end isn’t the main point, maybe the real story is everything that happens before it. The ending is the same for all of us, but the journey isn’t.
For me, what gets me out of bed every morning is the thought of how precious life is. No matter how short or imperfect it feels, nobody truly wants to die. I’ve heard people say it’s better to suffer and breathe than to die without experiencing life at all, and I understand that. That’s what keeps many of us going. I don’t work because I think my efforts will last forever. I work so I can have a life that feels comfortable enough. A life that makes the journey to the end softer, warmer, and even enjoyable. So even if everything ends someday, at least I lived well.
But it’s disturbing how far people have taken the struggle, all in an attempt to fit into society’s standards. There’s this loud but silent pressure to outshine everyone else, as if seeking a simple, comfortable life isn’t enough anymore. The bar keeps rising every day. Suddenly it’s not just about living; it’s about meeting some aesthetic standard, or projecting a lifestyle that looks pleasing from the outside. And because of that, so many people are working a hundred times harder just to blend in. High expectations, a perfect lifestyle, and trying to “look the part” have become people’s major goals. It’s starting to strip life of its real meaning. Instead of working to support our lives, we’re now working to raise the bar for the next person, and the cycle never ends.
In all this mess, life still becomes whatever we make it. If we live and work just to impress society or to be the most talked about, our lives will gradually lose meaning. We will eventually ask ourselves if any of it was truly worth it. But if we remember that our purpose isn’t only about comfort, good food, or aesthetics, then we might start looking for deeper ways to give our lives real meaning. And somewhere in that search, we may finally find the kind of happiness that doesn’t fade.
Images are mine.