appreciating the flower,

All of us want to be realistic.

It spares disappointment.

It spares loss.

It spares misfortune.

No one wants to say they hoped for something,

that in the end... never really happened.

I would say I am probably an expert at this.

At looking at the "reality" of a situation.

But reality is cruel right?

It hurts.

Thankfully underneath all the build up reality, is a little hope.

You have it. We all do.

We just forget about it.

You know, it's that feeling.

When your sitting in your bedroom, and your all alone.

It's late at night.

No one you love is calling or texting.

And every horrific memory comes to mind.

Every past relationship,

every lost friend,

every foolish mistake.

It's all there.

And it's those moments that we say, "I don't believe."

It's in those moments when we feel as though the world is one big lie.

Turning and manipulating stories to convince us it's really good.

That the reality is that nothing lasts forever.

That something that feels good is only temporary and in a moment,

in a split second it will be gone.

I can't help but think about one of my favorite movies "The Thorn Birds"

when this truth comes to mind.

It takes place on a farm in Australia. And this familys farm gets completely burned down.

Everything.

The house, the crops, the animals.

Finally, it stops because of a rain shower.

The youngest daughter is approached by the preach as she is tossing through the aftermath.

She is angry and brings up all the loss that God has brought upon her. The fire, the death of some of her family members.

And the priest turns to her, holding one surviving flower and says, "He brought the rain, he spared the flower."

I'm not saying this to be religious. But moreover, I bring it up to point out

that the reality is also good.

We just are too selfish sometimes to see it.

Those moments when we are in our rooms, and it's dark, and we are alone.

We only think about the fire. The loss.

And under the painful memories, we forget about the rain and the flower.

In the end, we do believe. We dream.

You do.

You look to the future, saying things will be better then.

When I move out things will be better.

When I find the person of my dreams things will be better.

When I get a new place things will be better.

When I get more times with my loved ones things will be better.

The truth is, things are always bad.

& with it, always good.

The bad reality is just easier to see... & easier to remember.

but it's not about the future.

It's about appreciating the flower.