Hard

You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair.  Then I thought 'Wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?' So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.
- Marcus Cole, Babylon 5

Life is hard.  Herself and those around her struggle with the mundane and the profound, the technical and the personal.  Water heaters burst; mysterious leaks appear.  Contractors fail to arrive.  Servers crash.  Knees hurt; backs ache; teeth need fillings. Patience wears thin.  Unexpected expenses appear. Clients fail to respond and are slow to pay.  Coworkers provide insufficient information, and ask questions for which the response is unknown or for which they already have the answers.  Blood relatives, who are expected to be kind, behave in a passive-aggressive manner.  Tires must be replaced.  Differing parenting styles yield complexities.  Fatigue.  Headache. Loneliness. Frustration.  Sorrow. 

Throughout it all, they all try hard to do their best.  They attempt to eat right, to avoid too much salt or fat or migraine-inducing ingredients.  They tidy up.  They try to go to the gym regularly. They call upon reserves of patience about which we were unaware until desperation arrived.  They apologize and make peace.  They resign themselves to paying a bit extra.  They take just a couple more ibuprofen to lessen the pain.  They wait.  They hope.  They try, again and again.

Sometimes, it is too much to bear, and a relief valve is necessary.  They curse.  They cry.  They throw things.  They turn to food, to cigarettes.  They avoid other people.  They curl up with a blanket and think bitter, despairing thoughts. They sit immobilized before the television.  They lose themselves in the vast expanse of the internet. 

While a critical person might scoff at their apparent weakness or look down upon them for their displays of emotion and forays into unhealthy and unproductive habits, the understanding soul knows better.  It is not a question of lack of willpower; rather, it is a matter of self-preservation.  They do what they must, for sometimes, that tiny piece of solace -- perhaps in the shape of a piece of chocolate -- is just enough to keep Life's Dementors at bay.  Only after allowing themselves that moment, will they be able to find their bootstraps and try again, once more. 

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Plato