Why are some people born with health problems and others are healthy? Why do some people have a lot of luck while others don’t seem to have any? Everyone faces things in life that they feel are unfair. We compare what we have to what others have and think we got the short end of the stick. We can control some of these unfair life challenges while some we can’t but how we choose to handle these helps shape who we are.
We all have different opinions as to what we think is fair or not. Some say the more the better or the more valuable the better, while others are happy with what they have and don’t have. In the story “The Necklace,” the main character Mathilde wanted nothing more than to be classified as a rick and wealthy person. She constantly compared herself to people of wealth and felt ashamed of her life. “She was distressed at the poverty of her dwelling, at the bareness of the walls, at the shabby chairs, the ugliness of the curtains.” Mathildes desire to be rich and wealthy kept her from realizing that she actually had a good enough life without the wealth and money that she wanted. Just because a situation is difficult does not necessarily mean it is unfair.
A lot of our fate is determined by luck. Being in the right place at the right time is an example of that. I recently read a story called The 3rd Wish by Joan Aiken about a man who was lucky enough to get 3 wishes through saving a swan. He used the first wish and wished for a beautiful wife. Turns out the wife was originally a swan that was turned into a woman so the man used his second wish to wish her back to a swan. How unlucky is that? On the other hand, the man had been lucky enough to obtain the 3 wishes in the first place. Most people only dream of getting any wish and it coming true. So in this story, fate couldn’t decide whether to spare him or to make him perish.
Ask yourself; “How much control we actually have over fair and unfair circumstances?” If you think we have a lot of control, then explain how we can control it. Sometimes, we have just plain old bad luck and some other times, we have what we think of as amazing luck. A great example of us not being able to control our luck or if something is fair or not is an article that I read about the famous cyclist named Lance Armstrong. He can’t control what the public or what sport officials think about him. He can’t control him being accused of taking the performance enhancing drugs, and he most definitely can’t control getting cancer. “I will not participate in something so one-sided and unfair” he said. He determines the accusations against him as unfair but other people who are against him classify them as fair. What control does Lance have over that unfair circumstance?
Life can be very hard sometimes, it has its’ obstacles and is unfair at times, but we have to learn to make it worth something. By choosing to face hard times we can make a better life for ourselves. I recently read a poem called “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes and it is a great example of how we can make life worthwhile even though it seems unfair. Her son is having trouble with something and she is telling him to not give up and keep going. She said to her son; “Don’t you set down on those steps.” She’s trying to tell him to continue “climbin’” and find something that is interesting in what you do to make it worthwhile. Don’t continue thinking negative about what’s ahead of you and start thinking of what you can do to make it more enjoyable and entertaining, otherwise all of the time that you spend thinking life is unfair and thinking negatively will be a wasted part of your life and you will look back and wish you had made it more enjoyable.
Comparing our life to others can make us feel we are being treated unfairly and sometimes fate can intervene and make us feel we are the unluckiest person in the world. We don’t always have control over unfair circumstances but choosing to fight through them and make life worthwhile can help us get through life’s unfair challenge. We all face unfair situations in life and how we handle these helps shape who we are. Next time you are faced with an “unfair” situation in life, what will you do to turn it around?
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