Freedom and Responsibility

"Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well." - Josh Billings.

I think happiness only comes when you overcome challenges. Something is only valuable when you strive to get it. Happiness is measured by the distance you travel, not where you start from. The feeling of self-respect, happiness and satisfaction is as great as the effort you put in a goal, in a project, in a dream.

So one could be happy only when one's convinced that he's playing his cards well, as well as he could. One is free to play the cards as he chooses, and playing them well or not is his own responsibility alone. I don't know many card games, but we have cards from yesterday, and a few new cards are dealt every single day, and we make choices as how to make our next move.

Freedom comes with the responsibility of one's own happiness: Many people try to delay their freedom just because they are scared of carrying this responsibility. They let other people, or the circumstances decide for them, just to be able to ease the burden of freedom. If they turn out unhappy in the end, they blame those other people, those circumstances, the fate, the cards... But in fact, the decision to turn over your freedom is your decision. And your life is your own responsibility. And so is mine.

"They who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin