Falling Up

"...in a song like Gravity, you know, some people can't catch a break, and I can't seem to catch a struggle. I think it's a worse position for a guy that can't catch a struggle, because you know when that struggle comes, its gonna be all the struggles all at once. And Gravity is about being smart enough to stave it off."
-John Mayer-

Apparently, some people can't catch a break and some people can't catch a struggle. A friend has been saying for awhile that out of the two, he'd prefer to be the one to not catch a break because the theory goes that once something tough does come along, you'd crumble. As a person not accustomed to struggle or hardship, I'd say that it'd be horrible to not catch a break. Imagine never having anything work out as you'd hoped. I mean, half the time I just close my eyes and poof, things magically turn out great. What if everything was reversed?

I'd work at something really hard, give it my all, and then the final product would resemble mush. I think there's way too much romanticizing of "the road less traveled." Sure, there's something to be said for putting in your time, learning from your mistakes, and really earning something, but given a choice, who would willingly choose a life of constant disappointment?

I know people whose lives seem like a series of unfortunate events. I wish I could give them some magic beans and a golden goose egg to reverse their fortunes but it's hardly that easy. Just when things are on an upswing for them, something disastrous always seems to happen. Tell me, where's the fun in that?

Perhaps there's something I'm not appreciating about the idea of struggle as a pressurizing force for creating something great and good. After all, there's hardly much romance or intrigue in living a life where the biggest obstacles are minor molehills relative to the rest of the world. Is not struggling, or perhaps avoiding struggle, playing it way too safe?