Life's Labors.

Leading a successful life is not a given for any one of us. We may all begin with the greatest of expectations—we toast every baby's potential to reach the ultimate of possibilities—but reality soon sets in. We are all beset with numerous threats and menaces that challenge our ability to achieve that potential. Life seems to toss out many roadblocks to our fulfillment...  even our survival. If we are to succeed in life, we must toil for it.

The miraculous birth of a baby bird witnesses it pecking its way out of its egg and entering into an incredibly short period of a few weeks of growth, during which it transforms into a creature fully capable of flying and taking charge of its own life. But numerous dangers lurk, that threaten to terminate that young bird's life. There is no time for being lazy. Some 50% of birds in the wild do not survive their first year.

Modern human beings enjoy a survivability well in excess of a birds's 50%, yet life for us is not without its dangers and labors. Compared to wild animals, humans have become stratified on many levels. The inequities of these hierarchical levels have divided humans into different classes. Those who fall on the lower levels can find life most precarious. They face threats that are truly existential—any menacing challenge can push them over the edge, into oblivion. Life is very hard for for them

Yet even the advantaged and prosperous among us can struggle. The First Noble Truth of Buddhism declares that life is dukkha—the struggle of dealing with the various kinds of unsatisfactoriness of life. There may no longer be an existential threat—lingering just offstage to terminate the existence of the rich and powerful—but those who have plenty can still struggle with a deep sense of unease and despair. The more you have, the greater the threat of loss. Even they cannot escape the need to work.

So life is at the very least laborious and sometimes even hazardous. There is no assurance that life will become glorious by either a favorable birth or by diligent and virtuous work. Yet we also know that life is precious and fully worth the effort to persevere and do our best. Evolutionary science tells us that procreation is our greatest drive... the urge to send our genes into the future. That drive is a subconscious one and directs much of our behavior—such as to eat, in order to continue living, and engage in sex, in order to propagate those genes. Yet we also know that it is crucial to flourish—to make the most of this life today. And our ability to thrive involves more than our accident of birth... it is also greatly dependent on our willingness to work for it.