Hard Living People

Do you know what I mean when I say, "hard living" people?

They are the people you see on the street with dark circles under their eyes. Their faces are worn and weathered. Stress, cigarette smoking, drugs, booze, and abuse; they are all daily routines to these people who live in a world of numbing themselves so that they can get through the day intact.

As harsh as they are to look at, I imagine if you looked deeper into their souls, you would see a worse scenario. I imagine that you would see shattered confidence, trust, beliefs, and a broken will to succeed in life. All the dreams and aspirations they once had as young kids with a world of possibility has been replaced by what they perceive as their lot in life and their reality.

I look at these people and wonder where the point was in their lives where they gave up hope and what meaning that they took from something with such impact on their lives that they chose this way of being.

Because it really IS a choice. It's important to note that in every circumstance, we have a choice in the matter. That choice is always up to our perception, and how it impacts us is the meaning that we give it. If you change the meaning of it, you change the impact of it.

But still, there will be there people who will always wander around life in a haze of stories and perceptions of how rotten their life is, and who is to blame for it. However, whenever I see someone like this, I want to surround them with big embracing arms and offer them feelings of love and hope. Because maybe that way, they will have some love and hope where there is none to be found.