He was right, though. If we hold our hearts out in our hands, it is only a short matter of time before someone comes along and starts sticking needles into it, just for the sake of watching us writhe in agony.
Such a pessimist. But in the end, the sad truth is that people can't be trusted. Go ahead and ask me why I think that. Nobody will, of course. Nobody sees this blog. But when I'm as desperately tired as I am at this moment, there's just about no limit to what I'll say. If it's in my head, it could very well come out of my mouth.
So.
Life is interesting. We go through good days, where the sun is shining - literally, figuratively, or both - and there are smiles all around. Then we have days like today, when nobody seems to have gotten any sleep in at least two weeks and everybody is tired and a little depressed. Or a lot depressed, depending on your disposition. Either way, it's not fun to be exhausted beyond fatigue.
I love people, but only sometimes. I used to strongly dislike most people all of the time, so I'd say this is definitely an improvement from past times. People can be great fun, but there are times when solitude is absolutely necessary. Solitude and Silence. It's quite sad how increasingly difficult to find true, sheer silence nowadays. Everybody's so busy going about their lives that they never stop to notice how incredibly loud the world is. And all that noise is so meaningless. It's in the silence that God speaks.
Silence can be louder than the ruckus, though, if it's an unwelcome guest. It can make a person crazy.
In our loud, social, tiny world, we need to learn to be more honest with each other and to appreciate the silences. We need to be more careful with each other's hearts. We need to love one another more than we love our selves. These are truths that very few care to listen to, because very few care more about anything than that monstrous SELF.
Death to self. To live is Christ; to die is gain. This world holds nothing for me... but I can't really believe that the world holds nothing. It does. It holds people. It holds love. It holds God's creation, the work of His hands. Yes, there are bad things, and yes, when death finally comes and frees us it will be much better than here, but I cannot say that there is nothing good here. All of the pain will be worth it in the end.
It's analogous to childbirth. The mother goes through some intensely agonizing pain, and while it's happening she might be having some serious doubts about whether it's worth it. But the moment her child is placed into her arms, it becomes clear that the pain was nothing compared to the joy she now holds. In the same way, the pain and suffering we endure on the earth will be cast in a whole new light once we finally reach the eternal joy of being in the presence of God.
What else is there?
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