From childhood to present, how difficult has your life been?

Story time: My dad died when I was 12. Since then, I’ve lost a close relative or friend every year, on average. That’s 16 close deaths in as many years. My friend lost her grandma, who she was incredibly attached to, and was too ashamed to break down and grieve in front of me. She thought her grandmother’s death was not so serious in comparison to the people I have lost. I told her that the pain caused by her grandmother’s death could be greater than the pain from all of my losses put together.

My view: Everyone has different thresholds, different experiences, different beliefs, etc. that will affect how much they struggle. Everyone also has different struggles. And every response to a specific struggle, will vary from person to person. As a result, a hierarchy of hardship can’t really exist.

The problem: My view is nice and all, but it is flawed. It somewhat suggests that everyone struggles and there is some sort of equality in struggle. But how can that be, when I also believe that some people do have it really easy compared to others?

Questions:

• If you think back to your toughest times, were there any factors that made your experience considerably easier or more difficult? For example your family, beliefs, knowledge, etc.

• Do you agree or disagree with my view?

• Does a life without hardship exist? If so, is the ease a result of a person’s individual strength or a lack of difficult life experiences?