People are prosaic:
Longer than can be perfected,
Ever shorter than can cover all.
Lifetimes spent in their pursuit
Are lifetimes spent in chasing’s thrall.
Prosaic
Published
"When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am…" –Maya Angelou
Writer In Retrospect 
Scripted in elegance, Rachel.
Allow a word or two in chasing’s defense. That motion, that pursuit, goes by “Progress” in many other contexts. Its kinetic energy powers civilization.
Even when the efforts fall short, as they usually do, they satisfy our species’ aspirational nature. Plus, consider all else we accomplish along the way.
Even hopeless yearning serves a purpose, provided the emotion is redirected intelligently.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Touché. But if the emotion is redirected intelligently, is it truly hopeless yearning?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yearning is the cause, and emotions are its effect. Both are inevitable.
Yearning is life’s relentless condition, but we have much more control over the feelings/actions it produces. No matter whether despair or determination.
LikeLiked by 1 person