Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a professional athlete.
They have it all, the fame, the glamour, the money, considered as heroes to many. They have it all, right?
Junior Seau isn't the first athlete, nor will he be the last, to commit suicide but it makes you wonder why. We always compare our own lives to theirs and get upset when things like this happen because we claim they have no reason to do this.
I was talking about this to some people and we thought about what makes a person tick, what makes them go on. I know for me personally it's that I want to do better then my parents, I don't think I am a better person, but I want to do more. It's a common thought in psychology that we "compete" with our parents.
Neither of mine went to a four year university, so I did and graduated. Now, that doesn't make me better but it is a driving force to want me to do better in my life.
I see the way they live, which is good, but I want to live better. I want to make more money, retire sooner then they do, all of these small competition like things. I think almost everyone is like this. I currently always have something that I want to get. A new car, a house; something to drive me to work harder, make more money, to live a better life and be happier.
What happens now when I am an athlete, a "hero", a huge public figure, have more money than I know what to do with. What next? What do you do when you have everything that's a physical object. For over half your life you know how to buy things to make you "happy" but we know money doesn't buy happiness. So what next?
Start a foundation? Make others happy? What if you do that. What next? Tell your children you love them, knowing they are teenagers and don't really want much to do with their parents, especially when they are divorced.
Some keep buying more things till they have no money left. Some do hard drugs to get that feeling. Some must find other things, like turning to their own family. It makes me sad that these athletes turn to suicide for relief and I wish the best for their families. Though as you look at your own life you need to realize that if you are happy, you have everything and that's all you need.
If we as human beings have nothing to strive for, nothing to keep us going, nothing to wish and dream for. Do we really have anything?
