Recently, an online discussion broke out about the saddest truths in life that everyone needs to accept. Thousands of people weighed in to deliver this authentic list of life’s realities.
1. On Helping Others
“You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.” A corollary of this is, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink it.” As someone who struggled with substance abuse issues, this is 100% true, and one of the biggest examples of not being to help people who are unwilling to help themselves.
2. On Your Family
“Just because someone is family doesn’t mean they have your best interest at heart. Family doesn’t always mean blood. And blood doesn’t always mean family.”
“Yep, that quote that everyone says means the opposite of what we think it means ‘blood is thicker than water’ refers to ‘blood brothers’ or a blood oath compared to the ‘water”‘ of amniotic fluid in the womb. So blood is thicker than water really is true…our family is the family we choose, not what we were born into.”
3. On The Fairness of Life
Life is unfair sometimes for no reason. “There’s that Picard line, ‘It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.'” Truly understanding and embracing this fact is actually incredibly liberating.
4. On People Caring About You
“Very few people in life will ever give a hoot about you.” My dad always said you’ll have only a few genuine, close friends. You can surround yourself with tons of acquaintances, but be careful who you trust.
5. On Working
Adding to people not caring about you, one states, “Yep, and at the bottom of that list is who you work for. If you die tomorrow, they will immediately replace you with someone else and not even look back.
So, do not sacrifice your life for your job. Don’t skip important events in your kids’ lives because you have to work. Don’t bend over backward for your job. You’re just a cog in the wheel; unless you own your own company, you’re totally replaceable.” Another adds, “Years from now, your boss won’t remember how many nights you worked late, but your kids will.”
7. On Bad People
Numerous forum members have learned that the worst people in the world always get away with things. I wouldn’t go as far as saying “always,” but so many horrible people get away with terrible things.
8. On Friendships
“Friendships are like plants that have to be watered in order to stay alive. Sometimes we forget to water the plant or choose not to. Or despite your watering, they decide to wither away regardless.”
9. On Love
“Love can destroy your life just as much as it can brighten your life. You can go from waking up to the love of your life to waking up to the despair that they’re gone.”
10. On Pets
“I really can’t buy my old dog much more time. She’s still happy and doing dog stuff, but she’s losing weight and having difficulty getting around. I talked to a mobile vet about end-of-life planning for her, but I really don’t want to accept it. I love my doggo.” This one is such a painful life lesson. I remember losing animals naturally and having to put one dog down. If you are a fur baby owner, you’ll eventually deal with their loss.
11. On Failure
“It’s okay to fail. Everyone in life does, even the most successful people. It’s not how you fail but how you respond to the failure that defines you. Fail forward fast. People who are afraid of failure never fail enough to succeed.”
12. On Greed
“Greed is the underlying cause of a lot of the world’s suffering as it allows people to justify doing horrible things.” I am reminded of 1 Timothy 6:10—For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
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Source: Reddit.
Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.