Ezra's Aphorisms

Trials of Life

Sad Clown Photo: by Capotina

Life’s trials are weighed in years of heartache—

not in the smiles that hide them.

Ezra Godson

Sometimes we wish our lives were as comfortable as a La-Z-Boy. Reclining through the day, we enjoy grill parties and Sunday football on the big screen in our living room or mancave. Unfortunately, life has a way of making us pay for every ounce of happiness we conjure up. Bills, narcissistic co-workers, health issues, our children, or just dumb luck, can drag us through the mud and leave us awestruck at how fucked up life can be. Often, our smiles are simply masks that dull the pain. Like a clown with a painted face, our practiced grin holds us together as we hope no one notices the pain between our clenched teeth. Life becomes a stage where we act as if we have it all together, our frowns forced upside-down. Yet, pain is at the crossroads of experience and wisdom. As we age into our grey-haired stage, years of heartache are weighed in life’s trials and not in the smiles that hide them.