Life or Strife?

 Life or strife?

Scene: VELS session
Characters: Me & a class of erratic teenagers
Me: So now you tell me. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Boy 1: (looks at me blank faced)
Girl 1: Maybe working in people's homes
Boy 2: How do we know if I'd even be alive?

(You would say that had me. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't answer that. No please... you're mistaken)

I drew two stick people on the blackboard and labelled them A & B.

Me: This is person A, who worked hard, made a name, became successful and is now 22. Person A may die today. We don't know.
Here's person B, at 85 years of age, sitting on an old cot in a run down house, having done nothing to make life worthwhile, telling us that thinking about the next five years is a waste as nobody knows if we shall be alive.
What's more frightening? Being A or B?
All those erratic teenagers: Person B
Me: And who do you want to become?
All: Person A

Oxford Dictionary:

life
/lʌɪf/
the condition that distinguishes animals from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth and continual change 

strife
/strʌɪf/
noun
angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict.

Take a deep breath. Feel the oxygen course through your body. Life! The very definition of life includes growth and change. And the very definition of strife includes conflict. What would you like to go with?

I shall end this blog with a poem that beautifully captures the give and take between life and strife. Do leave your comments 👍

Life has a way of teaching lessons 🎭
Now it's upon us to realize
That the favourite teacher at school 👩‍🏫
Was actually extremely intolerant
When it came to how hard we worked 🏃‍♂️

Life has a way of burning ropes 🧨
Now it's upon us to realize
That the ropes we choose to hold on to🧶
Might actually be keeping us away🧗‍♀️
From firmer ground just inches below 🏕

Life has a way of flinging dirt👎
Now it's upon us to realize
That the most precious treasures lay💰
Under several feet of dirt and dust🏜
And hands must be dirtied to get to them🧹⛏

Life has a way of causing falls 🏂
Now it's upon us to realize
That the strongest fortress is built 🧱
With the best foundation which
Keeps away humiliation and disgrace🤴

Life has a way of handing us pain😑
Now it's upon us to realize
That the very beginning of life 🤰
Involved a lot of pain and pain 👶
Means that we are born and growing👵

Life has a way of crushing dreams 😖
Now it's upon us to realize
That the best of fragrances are derived🎉
From crushing the most beautiful flowers 🌺
And squeezing out all they have🌸

Life has a way of doing things 👨‍🔧
Now it's upon us to realize
That we decide what we do with it 👨‍🎨
It's prudent to live it to the fullest 🧚‍♂️
And not to dwell on what it does to us🙇‍♀️