The Struggle of Understanding

"Struggle is actually something that is important to the process of understanding what true happiness is." - Ryan Allis

There are many times in our lives when we don’t understand. It may be the conversations that we’re having in that moment, it could be why a person thinks the way that they do - it could even have been the reason why there’s a stop sign on a specific corner of a street. We as human beings (or at least I think) always yearn to understand. We’re looking to gain more knowledge the we did when we opened our eyes to a new day. It’s a part of this life cycle where we just want MORE.

It seems as though lately I find myself constantly trying to understand, well, EVERYTHING. It’s like everything around me and going on is being spoken in tongues and it’s hard enough just to keep up. The more that goes on around leaves me more confused, with more questions than I could’ve possibly dreamed of or feeling dumbfounded like everyone else is on a specific wavelength that I can’t seem to drift to. And when I’m left really confused in a situation - I just want to understand it. I’m not trying to judge or criticize or immediately point out what’s spinning in my head. I just want to understand what’s going on for the one on the other side - person, place or thing.

Let me give an example. There always comes a point in life when people come to question their life. I don’t mean a midlife crisis where you question your entire existence and then go on a 180 jump of “the norm”. Although that might happen to everyone, too. I mean that point in life when you come to question the most recent events in your life and how the universe has put you on this path. I’ve been on the tangent before - and it’s a rollercoaster of a road. I’ve come to question why things happen the way that they do, in the order that they do, and why it affects the people that it does. But when I “talk to the moon”, I’m not trying to judge or hate or be angry (even if I’m feeling those things). All I want to do is understand.

I’m the kind of person that sees all points of any situation in front of me. And with that comes having to see every point of view. So when I don’t have a way to see the other point of view that exists, I struggle because I want things to make sense. The struggle of understanding. It comes with many layers to it. You want to see all views. You trying to make sense of the other’s ideas - and how they don’t match up with yours. Trying to have as much of the puzzle so that you get a whole picture, not just half (which isn’t the same as hearing someone else, trust me).

The struggle of understanding. It’s one that occurs more often than not. And if nothing else to be taken away from - know that we all want to understand things. No one wants to be left in the dark or confused. We just want to want to be heard, understood and loved. And if you want someone to do that for you - you sometimes have to do that for others. And once you do that, you've taken one step forward in the process of life.