Words from my recent book Seize the Day: A Mindful Guide to Fuller Living that challenge us to confront some of the issues of unfairness in our world.
You think sometimes that life is unfair?
Sometimes life seems unfair.
It always rains the hardest
on the people who deserve the sun.
Anon
Life can be unfair sometimes,
but that’s no reason to give up on it.
Anon.
He makes the sun rise on the evil
as much as on the good,
and visits rain equally on the upright
and the wicked.
Matthew 5:45
You think sometimes that life is unfair?
Of course it is;
how could you imagine otherwise?
Some are born rich,
others poor;
some attractive,
others ugly;
some clever,
others stupid;
some healthy,
others sick.
It makes a difference,
sometimes all the difference in the world,
whether you’re black or white,
male or female,
gay or straight,
loved or unloved;
whether freedoms are yours by right
or a dream to be aspired to;
whether life brings you opportunities simply by dint of birth
or consigns you instead to the scrapheap.
Is any of that fair?
No.
But somehow you must take the cards you’ve been dealt
and make the best of them;
and should you start at a disadvantage,
then you need to play them better than most,
so that, perhaps, despite the injustice of it all,
you may still somehow come up trumps.
So then, if you are one of the lucky ones,
ponder your good fortune.
If you are one of the blessed,
appreciate your blessings.
If you are one of this world’s haves,
compared to the countless have-nots,
strive, in some way, to improve their lot.
Life isn’t fair, and never will be,
but why not do what you can to make it fairer?