I think one of the biggest lessons I continue to learn is having

Hear, O wayfarer of life’s long road, the words of Lights, who with honesty of spirit declared: “I think one of the biggest lessons I continue to learn is having humility and being thankful for what you have because everything’s a grind and it doesn’t get easier.” These words ring not with fleeting optimism, but with the tempered wisdom of one who has walked through labor, disappointment, and triumph, and has come to see that endurance is born not from ease but from humility and gratitude.

The origin of this utterance lies in the path of an artist, where the world often beholds only the shining lights of the stage, but not the shadows behind it. Lights, through her journey in music, has felt the endless demands of creation, the struggle of being seen and heard, the grind that presses forward without rest. And yet, she finds her strength not in bitterness, but in being thankful for what she has. The lesson she repeats to herself is one that sustains her: that the heart made humble and grateful can withstand burdens that pride alone would shatter beneath.

Consider the tale of Sisyphus in the myths of Greece, who was condemned to roll a stone up a hill, only for it to fall again. His punishment was endless toil without reward. Yet in the writings of Camus in the modern age, it was said that Sisyphus could still be imagined happy if he accepted his fate and found meaning in the struggle itself. In this way, Lights’s words are kin to that lesson: that life itself is a grind, a weight that must be carried, but the spirit that embraces humility and gratitude transforms the burden into a path of meaning.

Her words also strike against the illusion of ease. Many believe that if one strives long enough, the struggle will vanish, the work will soften, the mountain will grow shorter. But Lights speaks plainly: “it doesn’t get easier.” This is not despair, but liberation. For when one ceases to wait for ease, one learns instead to grow stronger, to deepen endurance, and to find joy in the fight itself. The one who expects ease is broken when it does not come; the one who expects hardship and walks with gratitude cannot be broken at all.

The lesson is clear: greatness is not born from conquering difficulty once, but from rising every day to face it anew. Humility allows us to learn from each struggle rather than curse it; gratitude allows us to cherish the blessings along the way, however small. Together, they form armor for the soul, guarding against both arrogance in success and despair in hardship. Without them, the grind will consume; with them, the grind will refine.

Therefore, O listener, take these words into your own life. Do not despise the grind, for it is the furnace that shapes strength. Each morning, awaken with humility, remembering that you are no greater than the work before you, and with gratitude, remembering that you are blessed to have the chance to labor, to breathe, to strive. Speak thanks for what you hold now, rather than waiting for tomorrow’s gain, and in doing so, you will discover resilience.

So let the words of Lights endure: “Everything’s a grind and it doesn’t get easier.” Yet do not tremble at this truth—embrace it. For the one who meets life with humility and thanksgiving will walk unbroken, even when the road is steep. Carry this wisdom, and you will find that the grind, though endless, becomes not a punishment but a proving ground, shaping you into one who can endure all storms and yet still give thanks.