Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Toward the Light...Always

They said he was too young. Too young to be married. Too young to be a dad. And now, too young to be divorced. It never occured to him that his marriage would ever end. Marriage was forever. And it certainly wouldn’t end this way. You see, there had always been an innocence about him. A feeling that everything would go his way. A feeling that the world was a beautiful place and would never hurt him this way.

Now his world was shattered. He was confused. He was shocked. Hell, he was just angry. How could she do that to him? How could she say those words to him? She loved him, right? She did once. She did last week. She did yesterday. How was today different? How could she say it was over? Her words just kept playing in his ears, like a skip on a record. She couldn’t love someone else. She loved him.

The weeks passed by but the words didn’t go away. No matter what he did, no matter the debauchery he inflicted upon himself, he couldn’t make the record stop playing. His anger had now given way to distress. Depression had set in. How could he possible continue on with his life? The life he had dreamed of, the life he wanted was over. All that was left were those words in his head and a never ending feeling that his life would never be the same. The innocence of life was gone. No more could he trust unconditionally. No more could he love completely.

Twenty years later, he looks back and still feels betrayed. But he has come to the realization that life is not just about the good or the bad that happens. It is how you handle that good and bad in your life that truly matters. You have a choice. You can retreat into a world of self pity. You can drive your car 90 MPH straight into a concrete overpass. You can give up and never love again. Or you can accept and forgive your mistakes. You can swerve away from the concrete overpass. You can take a chance and love someone else.

He knows now that although that was one of the hardest times in his life, he learned a valuable life lesson. No matter how dark the tunnel seems, there is always a light at the end. It may be dim and it may take a long time to reach it, but it is there. All you have to do is keep moving towards it. And once you come out of the tunnel and into the light, life can be beautiful again.

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