A Beautiful Life (Daniel)

I think that in life, it is very important to, in fact, be grateful for being alive. I mean, life is awesome! One look at glorious mother nature, or a sniff of a beautiful smell, or the endearment of a special moment with a loved one demonstrates it. Unfortunately, not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Life is awful, too. One only needs to remember the Holocaust, or literally any chapter of human history to know it. The amount of cruelty and suffering human beings can inflict on one another is jaw-dropping, and soul shuddering. No wonder people commit suicide. There is so much darkness on this Earth-- so much shadow. It can seem terrible to even live another day, when you feel used, abused, unappreciated, unheard, unloved, or unseen. It's so horrible. So why do we put up with it? What do we see so good in life worth living for? For some, it's religion that instills in them the principle of the value of life. For some people, it's family. I know my family has kept me alive, and kept me going time and time again. Genuinely, without family I could not have made it this far. For some people, it's art. Like Keating said, "Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." Whatever the reason, I think it is crucially important to find joy in this life. And to find bright, colorful, and lovely things to stay alive for. Life is a one shot thing. If we are miserable the whole time, we're wasting it. I'm not saying to dance through life. I'd never say to ignore your valid hurts. However, I think that it's time that I, and all of the human race with me, started appreciating the little joys in life that make it all worth it. I think each day could be filled with wonderment and friendship-- much like it is when we are little kids. I think each moment can have some redeeming qualities. Even if my back hurts, at least the sun is shining. Even if I am broke, at least I had money at some point to mourn its loss. ;D Even if I feel alone, I really am never alone. Putting the concept of God aside, even just in our shared experience of humanity we are never alone. I probably have felt something akin to what you are feeling right now. And how cool is that! So a bright side is, even if you're feeling sad, maybe I've been sad, too, and it's neat and nice that we get the chance to cry together, draw closer together, mourn, even greive, together, comfort each other, and then most importantly GROW together!!! Life can be wonderful if looked at through a glowing lens. Why be sad, when happiness costs so much less emotionally? We, ultimately, have control over what emotions we let rule us long term. Let us choose to have overall positive lives. I love y'all. And I'd hate to see you sad. Horrors are real. Really real. But so is beauty. And heaven is not some over the rainbow thing. It's here, and now. If you are willing and able to grab it. I can't wait to experience heaven on Earth with you guys, as we all strive for "happy." Truly, I love you each. I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and wonderful lives, as after we graduate, we may be parting ways for the last time. I'll definitely carry every one of you with me.


My prompt, now that I'm finally getting to it, is to share some way you think we can find light in the darkness, maybe even share a time that you've had to do so yourself. I'll share one.

The other day, I saw an ENORMOUS rainbow. And I'm not just talking a piece of it. End to end, I saw this triple rainbow (or more) band the sky, and I was just like, "wow." It's my first time seeing a complete rainbow like that. And then I went to go inside and go on with my day. Then, randomly, at the last second, I changed my mind. I stood and watched the rainbow, singing songs like Rainbow Connection, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, until it disappeared. And I was so grateful I did. If I hadn't taken that moment to myself, I would have not had the blessed experience of serenity alone with that vibrant rainbow.

Life is beautiful, my friends. Share your own ideas for efforts to make it more so, or your own experiences. I love ya! Bless y'all!