Is love, marriage, children, and all of that just a waste of time and money in the end? –@jaisondm
I did not want to have children. (See, “Is it Bad I wanted my First Kid to be Aborted?” http://bit.ly/g4a30s) I was terrified about it. I thought marriage, children, and love would reduce my time for other pursuits and reduce my chances of success and happiness.
And I was right. Sort of. I did get divorced. And raising children is very hard. I’m not really that great at it although I try http://bit.ly/oLhh1v.
But, that said, I don’t think the answer is renunciation of these things. Quite the opposite. The renunciates have it easy. They choose not to go through the pain so that life and salvation can be easier for them.
But there are no greater gurus than your children. There is no greater teacher of emotions than learning to live with someone. There is no greater poet to soothe your passions than the person you fall in love with. I wouldn’t trade any of my bad experiences in these areas for anything. Probably love and children have cost me my money and my life many times over. But I’m still alive. And better for it.