Difficulties

All the difficulties of life

All the difficulties of life are present every day; it is only the exigencies of the moment that call to our attention one or the other. When you have a sandwich, your thoughts do not dwell on hunger; when you know the bed awaits you at the end of the day, you don’t think about how tired you are, and where you will rest.

Most of the young people I am surrounded by do not understand this; for them, sufficient unto the day is the money in their possession, to spend willy-nilly on the engagement of the moment; then, when a difficulty presents itself, they seem astonished that they must provide for a situation they did not anticipate. For this lack of appreciation, I blame their parents. For god’s sake, if you didn’t plan to spend your whole life doing for them and providing for them, why did you never prepare them to look after themselves?

Is it my place to instruct them? I chose not to procreate precisely because I did not want the obligation to instruct others how to live in this society, one I find myself at odds with. And yet if I’m to be a good friend to my young friends, I find this is what I have to do.