Respond in some manner to the quote...
You have come into a hard world. I know of only one easy place in it, and that is the grave. ~Henry Ward Beecher
Mr. Beecher is right in that life is hard. There are many difficult moments, and times when you feel like all the odds are against you. These are the moments my family and my church said we should turn to prayer. Praying to God and putting it in His hands is a form of giving in, of accepting that you are powerless against the circumstances of the world.
I don't know if I can believe in that, myself. I think that I am more inclined to believe God helps those who help themselves. It may not be the easy way, but it is better to me than folding your hands together and waiting for some deliverance from an outside source.
I disagree that the only easy place is the grave. There are easy places one can make for themselves - places that are full of friends, full of warmth and support and love. But again, these are not obtained by prayer and hope. These are forged by being warm and open and accepting, by extending your hands in friendship and your heart in companionship to those around you.
Mr. Beecher was likely not an optimist.
But I believe that if we remain positive and actively seek to be the joy we want to find in our lives, that joy will return to us. We can make our own place of rest and peace and comfort without digging our own graves.
Mr. Beecher is right in that life is hard. There are many difficult moments, and times when you feel like all the odds are against you. These are the moments my family and my church said we should turn to prayer. Praying to God and putting it in His hands is a form of giving in, of accepting that you are powerless against the circumstances of the world.
I don't know if I can believe in that, myself. I think that I am more inclined to believe God helps those who help themselves. It may not be the easy way, but it is better to me than folding your hands together and waiting for some deliverance from an outside source.
I disagree that the only easy place is the grave. There are easy places one can make for themselves - places that are full of friends, full of warmth and support and love. But again, these are not obtained by prayer and hope. These are forged by being warm and open and accepting, by extending your hands in friendship and your heart in companionship to those around you.
Mr. Beecher was likely not an optimist.
But I believe that if we remain positive and actively seek to be the joy we want to find in our lives, that joy will return to us. We can make our own place of rest and peace and comfort without digging our own graves.