If you pay attention to people, a lot of them seem to believe they're busy, or tired, or their schedule is packed, regardless of age or life situation. We all believe we're drowning, at least at some point in our lives. And, in our own way, we kind of are.
I've met plenty of 22 year olds that think their life is an absolute mess. I used to be one. Most of it revolves around their indecision and the stress of the unknown. They are in a stage of life where they have to become more independent. They're probably getting close to being done with college, if they decided to attend, and are now faced with the very real question—Can I afford this society?
Then of course there are the newlyweds. They've probably found a career and are in the stage before having children where they are enjoying dual income and maybe traveling a little bit. Their life might not seem so stressful all the time, but they might feel busier than the average human, because they choose to make it that way.
Next are the new parents, whose children are wholly dependent on them. Parents usually can't find much space to breathe. Part of their challenge is losing a sense of themselves in the endeavor. It feels like they're putting themselves on the backburner so much that when they find free time, they have no idea what to do with it.
Everything is about taking care of the kid(s). So much so that sometimes parents of younger children forget to take care of themselves. They sacrifice a healthy diet and sleep because it's just what they're supposed to do. What they have to do.
Of course the consistency in all of this is that everyone at every stage feels some sort of chaos. And every stage is temporary. Graduating to every stage is like a new experience. An exorcism of sorts. It's like you're forced to say goodbye to the recent past so that you can make room for the intrusive future that you're not ready for.
The beauty of it all is that you're in the driver's seat. You don't always choose the challenges that pop up on a daily basis, but you did choose the circumstances.
We seem to let life steal the blame a lot. Like we didn't intentionally put ourselves in our current situation. There's a responsibility that we try to ignore for some reason. I think the comforting thing for me is knowing that everybody is a mess.
It seems pessimistic at first glance. To think of everyone as not having it all together. But if I look around the room at anyone in my current life circumstance, I see a bunch of struggles. And I know the exhaustion is temporary.
But the memories aren't. And I look at my parents’ generation and I hear them laugh at their past struggles. And I think to myself that this is the cycle.
Some day I'm going to look back at this time and I'll probably tell my kids what a struggle it used to be. Knowing that it was all so worth it. And so necessary.
There's a beauty to it all. There's something wonderful about becoming selfless and so full of love that you don't leave room for regret. You force yourself to try every day, because you eventually understand that as you continue to graduate life stages, this thing is so much bigger than yourself.