The Magic Of Struggle

The poet Robert Browning, in the poem Andrea del Sarto, said "a man's reach should exceed his grasp..."This poem is about a very skilled painter who was criticized for having technical skill but no feeling of 'soul' in his paintings. He didn't show the struggle that is part of the human condition. Struggle is much more a part of life and more important than we may realize. We give lip service to wanting to take it easy, looking forward to vacation, the easy way out and so forth. But we actually rebel against boredom, the opposite of struggle. I think we are wired to struggle and don't want to admit it. Look at the constant struggle a baby puts into mastery of everything. Look at the rewards this struggle brings, the abilities the baby gains. Creative people, and all people are by nature creative, struggle constantly to learn, to master new elements of their craft, to express themselves. The ancient alchemists struggled for uncounted years to turn base metals into gold. In allegories of Heaven and Hell the stories say Hell is an easy downward path and to reach Heaven you must climb some fairly steep stairs. I believe the wise magician knows the necessity of struggle and does not avoid it. But a wise magician can reach out to the magic that surrounds us for energy to get involved in good struggles and even glory in them. Part of the wisdom of dealing with struggle is to nurture your energy. Overreaching is a term athletes use to denote the dangerous fatigue that comes from too much training. Don't avoid struggle, but do engage in it in a way that will bring you success. Rest, study, try new things. Enter the fray and win. May the spark be with you.