There was once a man who set out to have a perfect life. He saw many people around him who lived flawed lives and labored over tasks that they did not enjoy. Being a smart and industrious man, he promised himself that he would not be like them. He would live the perfect life.
He knew that in order to live a perfect life he would need money and riches. Therefore, he studied a trade that paid highly. When his studies were finished he obtained a job that provided him with more money than was able to spend. However, there were days when the job was dull and he longed to have fun like he did as a child. Being a man of great intellect, he resolved that this job was too dull for him and if he were to live a perfect life, he would need to be able to spend his time as he pleased. He left his job after a short time in order to spend his time adventuring and seeking exciting experiences that thrilled him. However, he soon descended into poverty because he was unable to earn a decent wage when he followed his every whim and lived his life in the moment, as a child does.
The man also knew that if his life were to be perfect he would have to have a perfect family. His family was kind and they were loyal to him. However, some of them possessed selfish flaws and being man who sought knowledge and truth, he recognized these flaws for what they were. As time went on, he became more and more cognizant of the faults in their character. He began to distance himself from them. One by one, he dissected them and arrogantly aired his grievances to them. Angrily, he became increasingly wary of their presence and drew away. Eventually, he was alone and he had no family to depend on.
The man was a young man and he also knew that he would need to choose a wife. By happenstance, a woman came into his life that was able to charm him. She was beautiful, kind, caring, and intelligent. He set out to make her his wife. They were married and at first they were very happy together. They cared about each other. The man loved this woman for she was beautiful and she could satisfy him. However, after some time he grew tired of her presence and he desired the pleasures of other women. He knew that if his life were to be perfect, he would need to have a wife that was perfect. He also reasoned that he would also have to have the flesh of other women as well, because he desired this and in a perfect life he should have everything that he desires. He bid his wife farewell and sought the company of a number of other women. Some of these women were pleasing to him for a time but they did not make him feel loved in the way that his wife had. The other women he took the company of also began to know of his philandering ways and one by one they turned their backs on him. Eventually, he ended up with no women in his life and the loneliness he felt was crushing.
The man was determined to have a perfect life. Therefore, he must have only the best people around him at all times. He had many friends. They were fun loving and many of them were and successful in their jobs. However, like many human beings, some of them were weak in their own ways. The man recognized this and he was determined to rid himself of their presence. He refused to talk to them and told himself that he was simply too good for them and that they were jealous of his successes. One by one he broke ties with them and removed himself from the social circles of his youth and adulthood. Now the man was truly alone.
One day the man found himself sleeping outside on a park bench. He was starved. His clothes were ripped and tattered. He had not eaten in over two days. There was not a soul in the world which he could reach out to and the feel amusement of friendship. There was not a soul in the world which he could count on should he ever be ill. Was this the perfect life he had set out to achieve? No, it was not. However, the man realized at that moment that a perfect life is no blissful experience. He recognized from deep within his soul that the pain and suffering is not something to be avoided but it is the seasoning that god puts on the meal of our lives. Without strife, misery, loneliness, anger, and pain life is but a bland meal of plain carbohydrates and it neither cures the patron of their hunger nor nourishes their health. A man with a perfect life will die feeling hungry, almost as if he never ate. Do not deny god the opportunity to add flavor and spice to your life. Just as the pepper burns the tongue when you eat a meal with its flavor, so too does the seasoning of the god’s. If it has been decreed that your life be one of intense, even harsh flavors, let it be so my friends. Perfection is nothing, your life is what you are. The god’s have prepared you as meal, and seasoned you to their pleasing. Let yourself be eater and rejoice in the nourishment of the gods for your life and your soul will be recycled through them, much as the plant matter and muscle of lesser beings is recycled back into the earth by humans. You will be born again and the only thing one can do is hope that the next time around, the gods will eat you for dessert.