The Try-Nots

It’s funny how many people don’t try for anything in life. They don’t make it their own. They take it as it comes. They must either believe that what is meant for them will happen on its own or they just don’t care what happens to them at all. To each their own, I guess you’d say.

But it makes me wonder: are the try-ers any happier than the try-nots? Are they any more fulfilled?

The most upbeat person I know–happy by nature–has not gone after a single thing in his life. As a young adult, he worked jobs in which he was sought out or knew a guy on the inside. His long-term career was the result of a man he used to ride the school bus with, a man who thought of him when he was looking to hire. Nothing more than that. And he accepted the position without much thought and without any second-guessing. It was a line of work he never saw himself in, but he kept with it for thirty years.

His love life was the same. He married the first girl he ever dated, and, when they got divorced, he married the second. He’s onto the third now, with no regret for his failed relationships. He’s happy by nature, remember? Nothing gets him down.

And that again raises the question: is he any less happy than if he would have pursued his own goals, paved his own road? He may not have had passion, but he’s always been content. He’s found peace with himself.

So is that what life really should be? Taking it as it comes? All in its perfect moment? With no effort on our part? Or are we to sacrifice a calm existence in our burn for something more significant?

I have always dreamed of a life in which I spend my days tending a garden with the smell of simmering soup drifting out the open window. I would then laze in the shade with a book after eating a large helping.

I have never wanted much, and I still don’t. My goal is to have no goals, just the same daily routines that soothe the soul. But…

How do I get there?

How do I acquire such a level of comfort that I don’t feel stressed every day of my life?

Must I become a try-er in order to become a try-not?

Will the trying ever end?

Can a person ever just live?