It’s Not Supposed to be Easybr /br /Today my wife, Dani, and I hiked along Tumalo Creek on the North Fork Trail. It is, aside from the mosquitoes, a very nice trail. It winds up the valley that channels the creek over multiple waterfalls and green, misty grottos. Beautiful place. As we ascended into big, old growth trees I was drawn to gaze up a particularly massive trunk and saw, about 50 feet up that the old monster had seen its share of battles. The straight trunk was bent and it was split into a double top. This was the result of some sort of trauma, an ice storm, a fire, a lightning strike. Maybe there had been another tree that was toppled into it, then fell and decomposed becoming the next generation of trees. Standing there I could not tell what had caused it, but it was pretty clear that this living thing was a survivor. As I pondered this individual specimen I started to notice a lot of other beauties that had learned to survive in this harsh ecosystem. br /br /The soil is a sandy, volcanic stuff that is not filled with nutrients. Yet on the steep banks were colorful wild flowers eking out an existence where no self respecting house plant would live. This set my wandering mind on to more examples of how difficult life really is. br /br /For just a moment I thought about Mozart. Gifted genius that he was he struggled to make living. People were quick with adulation, but tight with payment. For him, life proved to be extremely hard and he was unable to figure out a way to make the living he and his wife wanted. He worked very hard and, sadly, he died at age 36. I thought about a pride of lions. No one brings their food to them. They have to get up and run and hunt in cooperation with each other. If they are fast and smart and work together they take down the wildebeest and eat. Then from the wildebeest point of view, they only survive if they are fast enough and alert enough to avoid the lions. Not easy for prey or predator. br /br /Athletes who win world championships or World Cup races don’t do it “off the couch”. Whether it is Andre Agassi, or Bill Demong, or Dustin Pedroia or that local girl who wins the state cross country running title, they take natural talent and add a gigantic dose of hard work and get the job done. br /br /When I was a young adult I once worked with a stone mason, an old Englishman with whom no one else wanted to work. They guy would start the job early and work late. He was slow and demanded “perfection”. To this day his stone walls, fireplaces, chimneys and patios draw exclamations of praise. He never lacked for work. br /br /Here is my point. As a former teacher and constant observer I have often encountered people who just seem to want life to be handed to them. They want a fun profession that is dropped into their laps. How often have I heard (and here you can imagine whining sounds with the text ) “The assignment is too hard.” “I don’t feel like going to practice; I’ too tired.” “ I don’t want to get a summer job. I want to have fun with my friends.” “ I have to get up at 7:00? That’s not fair!” br /br /My wife (who works as hard or harder than I do) says that my attitude is the result of my “New England Puritan” roots. Could be, and while I am no Puritan and do not admire their practices in the early slave trade or treatment of American Indians, they did understand that life was not easy. I don’t think it is supposed to be easy. We get stronger from struggle and smarter from problem solving. That makes the things we make or do better. Better houses, better bikes, better kayaks, better freshly made scones. br /br /Whew! Time for a rest. Time to put my feet up and have a beer. All I have to do is walk to the fridge and open one. So easy. Oh yeah, I remember; my wife brewed the beer.br /br /Have a good one,br /br /Bertdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6589659500745667109-3746757201383790363?l=www.webskis.com%2Fwebskisblog.html’ alt=” //div
