A little reminder on perseverance

This blog's become something of a scrapbook for me, where I like to store profound discoveries. Here's one I came across tonight:

There's a lot to ponder in that quote: life on the other side of disappointment, and the necessity (to what end?) of darkness.

How is it that humanity is losing touch with these deeper values, and so many people seem so wrapped up in completely trivial discussions that ignore the shared emotional crisis/adventure that life really is? It's become weakness to admit anything other than delirious happiness (or at the very least a muted 'fine' that nobody even really waits for when asking 'How're you doing?').

No wonder that people keep turning to modern medicine to help them deal with their emotions: we're becoming so emotionally-stunted that we've got no way to deal with anything more deeply than a 'thumbs up' on Facebook (such an ideal world that 'thumbs down' doesn't even exist - until you look at the comments).

Sorry/not sorry if that comes across as a downer. It's really not. It's just me reminding myself - and you, if you're reading this - that failure is not just normal, but necessary.