Too often today do people take the easy way out. Whether we notice it or not, our lives are shifting towards doing what is easiest for us. Could you take your dog on a walk? Yes, but its easier to just put them on a tie out and let them sit in the yard until they want back in; so you do that. Could you make a real meal? Yes, but it's easier to microwave this frozen meal.
On the contrary, easy isn't always bad. Sometimes life necessitates easy. You chose the microwave meal because you only have ten minutes, you didn't walk the dog because it was 25 degrees out and they are much better equipped for that weather than you are. But we are letting excuses to justify the easy way go too far. Why didn't you read that book for school? Spark notes was easier. Why didn't you major in xyz? You always liked xyz. It was too much work, what I'm doing now is easier. Why aren't you talking about the real issue at hand? It's a very complicated issue, it's easier not to address it. It's easier for me to write an article about my five favorite recipes to make in a cupcake tin rather than try to write something meaningful, but I've taken the easy way out too often lately in favor of getting sleep.
Easy will destroy us.
Because it's easier for us to think about someone who has done something wrong to us as entirely evil, not an ounce of humanity in them. It's easier to pretend everything is black and white. But the world is not black and white. The world is a gray ever changing mass of complicated interactions that very few people care to even try to understand.
There are a lot of things that are wrong with the world right now. But a lot of the wrong could be righted if every single person made a conscious effort to do what is right even if it's hard. Because life is hard. But if you do it right, if you push through the obstacles that you don't really want to hurdle in case you get hurt, then you will be rewarded. And if one approach to an obstacle isn't working, try a different one.
When it comes to topics like politics and raising children and making a better future for yourself and the world: you can. not. take. the. easy. way.
As a society, we need to educate ourselves on the difficult nuances of the gray areas. There is no black and white, there's no perfect, good decisions and awful, bad decisions; there are decisions that will hurt hundreds verses decisions that will hurt millions.
When we're tired and our feet hurt and our joints ache and we get home and our children want to play, we can't take the easy way out and say "not now" or plonk them in front of the tv. We have to find the strength to do right by them.
We have to put in the enormous effort it takes to leave the world a better place than we found it. Because taking the easy way out every time leaves nothing but dust in our wake.
