Life of Cards

"The problem with life is that you can toil through the years chasing this illusion, this dream of a life of wealth, leisure, power, sex, and all the other abstract ideals that have driven and tempted people throughout history. By the time you finally lay a hand on that dream, the vision has evolved, the goalposts have moved, and you've broken yourself trying to get as far as you have. You're in too deep to stop by that point, so you juggle what you have while still chasing your new vision of happiness, and life just gets more complex and unstable with each iteration. Some people settle for what they have at some point, some continue this cycle with no end, and others simply break completely, but no one to my knowledge has ever successfully found true happiness by chasing perfection.

"My own life fell into the first category. I was told at a young age by both my parents and no less than three of my school teachers that I needed to devote my life to finding and holding a good-paying job or risk a life of poverty. So I struggled through twelve brutal semesters of college, immersing myself in all of the subjects considered most attractive to potential employers. I networked with executives and higher-ups at prestigious companies. I expanded my portfolio of engineering experience to buff my résumé. I sacrificed my time, health, and even a few friendships and relationships to claw my way to the top. And finally, I reached out and seized my dream as a powerful player in HASBAM Technologies, a highly profitable technology and systems corporation. Achieving this goal, however, felt hollow somehow. I had all the money I needed, and I tried to continually reassure myself that I was happy, but the happiness was empty and devoid of meaning. There was no higher to climb without selling my soul to management, an occupation even more devoid of meaning, and I couldn't bear giving up this life and throwing away all of the sweat and toil I had poured into it. I took the only option I could bear: live the "perfect" life I had created for myself..."