Thanks for your comments and questions. Let me start at the top.

Does what get easier?

I like people to define "it" for themselves. My sense of John's original question was that "it" meant being a human being, making tough decisions, doing what we have to do. In this specific case, it meant going to his hometown and breaking off with Chrissie. In other words, being honest and true to himself while being fair to the other person - not just stringing her along.

In another sense, it meant having a set of ethical values and living by them. We could talk all day about "it."

As far as I can tell "living" gets harder.

I'd say that physically living gets harder. We cannot do things in our 60-year-old bodies as easily as we can do them in our 20-year-old bodies .. unless we keep our practice up - yoga, horseback riding, whatever that practice is. However, being a specific person might get easier the more practice we have with that identity.

What are we working for exactly?

That's important to know. Many people are working so that they can continue to feed themselves. In the process of staying alive, they might come up with other ideas for work, other reasons to live.

Living has no goal.

You make your own goal or decide to live without goals.

Nature just says "fuck you, I don't care if you feel satisfied or happy! You are alive! that's what my goal is!"

Yup, nature's more than happy to throw us all on the trash heap of history.

But is "easier" really any better?

I don't think better or worse comes into it. For example thefoundation likes it hard. Doing the hard work of having ethical values and living your life by them, of learning as much as you can so you can make thoughtful decisions about things that affect you, your family and community, and your planet - that never gets easier. A lot of other things that can help you do get easier. thx for the badge.