I read a biography (the only one?) of Kurt Vonnegut in the last week. I'm thinking of studying some biographies of great men to help with my goal. He's the renowned author of Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle (both of which are marvelous concepts, albeit written in a style that is alien to many readers). His life was one of hardship and adversity, which led to a life of loneliness while still having many children to care for. What I do enjoy about the book is that it shows the reality of life without needing to emphasise or highlight the high points of a person's life. Obituaries commonly do this, and our society has some sort of sanctity for people who have recently died.
What I realised is that much success is born from adversity. When you're able to overcome meaningful challenges in your life, or survive harrowing situations, you become more aware of, well, everything in life. It becomes more precious. (This is also a reason why I believe there is less "success" or "purpose" in life today and a reason for the aimlessness of adolesence; a lack of real, meaningful challenges)
Nobody who went through the World Wars would say they enjoyed it. Life was hard; as a soldier you could die at any minute, as a civilian you could get shelled and die, or starve and die. Things that we take for granted today would have been astonishing pleasures for those who lived in those times.
A mindset we should have is to be grateful for things we have in life. Sure, we can complain about our lot in life, but we need to realise that what we have are privileges, not rights, and that someone will always have it worse than you do. From this, one can learn humility, which is one thing that many men cannot attain; they have to uphold their pride and look better than someone else. Sometimes it is much better to accept your mistake, and take responsibility. That is a much stronger measure of a man.
Writing this has made me feel morose. Go and play now, child.
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