Wouldn't It Be Nice?

Sometimes I wish I could run away from all my problems, responsibilities, etc and live like the beach bum I am deep down inside.
Lay out on the beach, tanning even darker than I already am, picking up surfing, boogie boarding, or skim boarding, engaging with the other people enjoying the beautiful beach weather.
I would allow the beating of the waves on shore and the calls of the sea gulls to fill my ears.
The salty humid air would fill my nostrils with the feel of sand under my feet.
That would be the life.

I look at that lifestyle, and those very appealing and seemingly relaxing things, yet I know that it would do me no good. It's the problems, struggles, trials, responsibilities, etc, in life that shape who we are.
As much as I hate the trials I have/are still enduring, in retrospect, I do not regret them. For they have made me a better person. They have shaped me and grown me in ways nothing else really could.  Running away from those things gets you nowhere in life, except maybe a dark tan and sand between your toes. But staying through and enduring will produce an internal character trait that is irreplaceable and so much more value, especially as we learn to endure with the strength of God.