Following is easy. Leading is hard. Having friends is easy. Being a friend is hard. Dying is easy.
Living is hard.
Nothing in life that is good and worthwhile comes without effort. We are born, all of us, with a nature that is drawn to the easy rather than the hard. Knowing this about one self and others softens the heart and builds iron into the will, keeps us going when all around is crumbling, when friends forsake, when the heart breaks, and the courage and confidence shatter. Knowing that such experiences are part of the deal gives us opportunities to choose to do hard things. Constant challenges make our journery exhilarating, wonderfully fulfilling, never, never boring.