The Great Equilibrium

Have you noticed that certain people seem to have it all together. Others however, don't. I know people who are amazing looking, great personalities, great careers, financially well-off, and the list can keep going. It would seem that some got "the good end of the stick." Most of us look at those people in awe, and with a hint of jealousy claim how life isn't fair. Well, I have a hypothesis. I believe that those with excellent attributes, also suffer with great deficiencies and horrible experiences. It seems that if you want to to excel in something, there is a payoff.

I have heard of amazing people who seem to have it all, who suffer with abnormal afflictions. I should just use a few "famous" examples to illustrate a point:

Who	The Super Great	The Super Bad
James Dean	Promising film career; Great looking; amazing talent.	Mother died when he was nine; struggled with his own sexuality; according to Elizabeth Taylor, he was molested by his minister.
Elizabeth Taylor	Considered, by many, the most beautiful woman of her time; long lasting acting career including two academy awards; magnetic personality.	Married eight times; health issues, including twenty major operations; struggled with drugs and alcohol
Marilyn Monroe	Considered, by many, the most beautiful woman of her time; starred in 30 films close to the age of 30; Sang 'Happy Birthday' to John F. Kennedy.	Addiction to sleeping pills, which resulted in possible suicide; She was in pyschoanalysis with 5 different analysts; divorced three times.
Michael Jackson	According to Guinness World Records, he is the most successful entertainer of all time; his album, Thriller is the best selling album of all time; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, twice.	Plagued with child sexual abuse allegations; altered appearance due to vitiligo and lupus; died during a "hopeful comeback."
Mel Gibson	The original Sexiest man alive; won academy award for directing; films starring or directed by Mel Gibson have collectively earned over $2.5 billion.	Struggles with alcohol addiction; worldwide press labeled him as homophobic and racist; restraining order by ex-girlfriend to stay away from her and their child.

If it wasn't for the press, we would of never known about many of the afflictions that these "super humans" have had. They were all very successful, good looking, and had the "it factor" that people keep talking about. Yet, there was a payoff for all that. We are all willing to accept the second column of the table, but would you accept the third as well?

I understand that there are people out there who have had these problems, but without the incredible qualities of the mentioned celebrities. In my opinion, they are just blind to their amazing qualities. The more I examine this subject, the more it becomes convincing to me. The bigger the "great", the bigger the "bad", as I know say. This idea has been played with before in movies and books. Most of you have heard of "selling your soul to the Devil". In return, he gives you earthly success, but with a horrible afterlife. While I don't believe you can sell your soul to the Devil, I do believe that things come at a price.

So, I think we all want money, but are we willing to spend it?

God bless,
Ryan