A Realization

I just realized something that is simultaneously great and terrible--that hard work is the key to satisfaction. It is great because it means that if you work hard, life will be better. But at the same time, it is terrible because it means that you have to work hard even if you don't want to. I woke up around 8:30 full of fear, worry, and frustration. After I finished a long day of work (~10 hrs work at least I think), however, I feel satiated and fine. I still have a lot of work, but I feel a little calmer.

I also had a random thought a few days ago that I thought I would talk about. Religion seems like not just one thing but rather a combination of multiple things.

1. It is the stories and literature or mythology that comprise the story it tells. E.g. The Ramayana
2. It is a set of rules by which you must live your life and tells you your values. E.g. The Ten Commandments
3. It is your personal relationship with God. It is a source of comfort and love to help you get through tough times and an ever-loving entity who always can listen to your problems. E.g. Praying to God
4. But it is also a community because it consists of a group of individuals sharing your identity to which you can contribute. E.g. Going to church on Sundays
5. It is also a ritual because people pray once a week, once a day, or even multiple times a day for the hardcore Muslims who do the salah. E.g. the Salah
6. It is the relationship with your ancestors and the dead who now live among God. E.g. Religious funerals
7. It is your relationship with the good and the bad and an indication of how good of a person you are. E.g. The concept of heaven and hell

Those are all that I could think of. Sorry for the simplistic post but I have already written probably about 3500-4000 words today (ethics essay, midterm exam, project report on curl security). So yeah, I'll conclude by expressing my gratitude to the world for conferring the gift of levity and joy upon me and for allowing me the opportunity to put in a hard day's worth of work after many days gone without doing so.