The Key to Life

None of us started off life
With an owner’s manual,
And for the most part,
We had no road map
To guide us along the way.
We had to learn
The principles of life
Largely by trial and error,
And by the examples
Of those around us.
We may have had
One book or another
To give us a sense of direction,
But we had to discover
Our own unique style,
Taking account of,
And trying not to stumble over,
Our individual
Strengths and weaknesses.
We had to come
To our own conclusions
About the purpose
Of our trials and tribulations,
And define our own
Reasons for being.
We each had to examine
The events of our lives,
And make sense of it all.
From our experiences,
We develop a perspective
That largely determines
Whether the fact
Of our being human
Is viewed more as
A curse or a blessing,
And sometimes
Our point of view
Changes over time.
In essence we are each
Left to explore
What it is to be human,
To get a sense of
The things that control our life
And our attitude.
Life is more than just
Destiny and fate.
We don’t have to
Careen so blindly
Around the corners of life,
For we have options.
There is machinery involved,
Gears and levers
That allow us a sense of
Control over our life.
Examining that machinery
Could give us the key
To opening the door
To the possibilities of life.
It is that key
For which we struggle.