I've not really experienced a personal tragedy. Don't get me wrong, crappy things have happened and my life isn't perfect, but I've never had some terrible event happen to me that would constitute being called a tragedy. With that in mind, let's focus on someone else's tragedy!
A cousin of mine was an "A" student and very fortunate with a bright future ahead of her. Her grandfather (I think it was her grandfather at least) left her a large sum of money in his will which she would have access to for just about anything she needed so long as she made the grades. Unfortunately, she made bad decisions, got involved with the wrong people, and ended up losing practically everything. She's to the point that she's having to bum money from other family members to support her, her boyfriend, and her three dogs and five cats. She's had so much time and opportunity to better her life, and yet she squanders every chance. Bottom line, she's lazy and stupid (maybe misguided is a better word... nah, just stupid), and is a perfect example of a self-inflicted tragedy.
Tragedy comes in many different forms. Sometimes life deals you a bad hand and you just gotta learn to roll with the punches instead of taking an easy way out so as to come out stronger in the end. Other times, you're a victim of the consequences of your choices, need to have the guts to admit a mistake, learn from it, and better yourself through your own efforts.
I like the way you flipped the script on how tragedy can work. We usually think of tragedy as an outer source affecting you instead of self inflicting tragedy. It is interesting to see how bad people can really mess things up before they realize it. It is tragic.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing is watching some ruin their own lives. I have someone in my life that I constantly want to knock some sense into. More so because their decisions affect not only themselves but also their spouse and children. It's hard not knowing how to help them but also so frustrating when they acknowledge the problem but refuse to change it.
ReplyDelete