“The only thing that makes life unfair is the delusion that it should be fair.” Dr. Steven Maraboli

Have you ever said, “Life is so unfair” or “Why does everything bad happen to me?” Behind this feeling of suffering is the fact that we didn’t get what we wanted and clearly deserved, while someone else we know did. These thoughts are driven by our feelings that we are being punished or wronged. 

Life is indeed unfair, but understanding that we do not have control over every outcome, no matter how hard we work toward it, is the beginning of easing suffering. When we find ourselves in a “life is unfair” moment, we have a choice—hold on and feed the storyline and drama, or feel the pain in the moment, learn and move on. The mind loves nothing more than to pick at old wounds, and it gladly will if we let it.

In Buddhism, the word dukkha means the struggle to accept the fact that things in life are temporary, limited and imperfect. Maybe we need to say it out loud, “Life is unfair,” and let that truth empower us, igniting the fire within. Life is unfair, and that simply means we have to work harder. If you want to know what I am made of–test me! The same has to be true for you. Let’s go, life is unfair, and we are perfectly fine with that! Show me what you’re made of.

With Gratitude,
Beth