Listening through my music about a month ago, I came across a line that for some reason struck me. It comes from the song "Worth Dying For" by Rise Against.
In the wreckage of a job well done
I saw a place I'd never seen before, yeah
And that moment I refused to close my eyes anymore
The part that really seems to have stuck with me is the line "In the wreckage of a job well done." I pondered these lyrics, trying to grasp even one of the possible meanings behind them.
It seems that success in any of our endeavors (the "job well done" mentioned in the song) necessitates the sacrifice ("wreckage") of some other part of our lives. Examples abound in everyday life -
- In order to pursue a relationship with a love interest, one may all but forget the friends they already have. The efforts to regain these friends will, in all likelihood, provide future strain in the relationship.
- In order to afford that new car/house/(insert material object here), one is likely to pursue more hours and responsibility (pronounced: stress) at work, which in turns reduces the enjoyment of the aforementioned item to such extent that there is little point.
It wouldn't be a stretch to come up with examples all day. On the surface this may seem either completely nonsensical or to be common sense. Upon a deeper inspection, however, it has the potential to explain the human tendency to never be completely content. Everyday life is made up of constant compromise of our values, our deepest desire of today pulling our care from what we thought to be all-important yesterday. This cycle can even be continued in a sort of loop where two things are steadily competing- while we invest our efforts into one, we have less attention to give the other, which in turn gives it greater value to us. In response we turn completely, funneling the energy back into the one we value more. Instead of creating a solution to the problem, we simply reverse it over and over again.
I suppose my point is that our success in any area of is likely to ultimately be its own undoing.
With this in mind it becomes extremely important, and much more satisfying, to enjoy the present moment rather than striving for the
next thing.