The swing-set. The rickety, memory-filled swing-set. The swing-set that, for years, sat in Grandma's backyard producing rust and propagating the most genuine of laughs. The slide, enormous in the eyes of a five year old little girl, was bright red and offered the most alluring invitation for bare feet to attempt to scale it's face. The swings soared with wings like that of a majestic eagle, or at least that's how it felt to the girl with red hair trialing in the breeze and a smile breaking through her porcelain face. The greatest feeling in her simple world was the feeling of the soft green grass between her toes, and the knowledge that for a moment she could escape the world in her Grandma's swing-set.
At the age of five one does not really comprehend the cruel, unpalatable reality of human nature. Simply put, the vastness of the world is masked by the innocence that those deep brown eyes cultivate when they see only the beauty around them. The beauty that lives in every creature. The beauty that is in every breath of life. The beauty that is entirely the ignorance of childhood. An ignorance I long to return to. Those brown eyes saw many illustrations of this cruelty, but at her young age did not understand the implications of what she was experiencing. Her heart was so full of wonder and admiration for the world around her that not a single word spoken to her, or hateful act performed against her could hinder her love for the days she had been given. For she knew that no matter what happened she could always return to her swing-set where she could create her own life and forget the one that by some ill-fated happenstance had been dealt to her. By the time her eyes were opened and the veil of seemingly unbreakable forgiveness was broken, she realized that seeing beauty in the world required effort. It required pushing down the sorrows, and plastering a smile on that freckled face even when there was no cause for joy. She realized that being brave meant holding your head up for others, having courage was entirely a selfless act in and of itself, and strength could come from memories of the times you felt the weakest. She learned what it meant to overcome.
Well, sort-of.
This is a story of triumph, a story of diligence to find the beauty in this world. A tale that encompasses the dream I have for finding hope in humanity, and myself. I have spent many days daydreaming of the times on my grandma's swing-set, when life was easy to run away from and depression didn't eat me away daily. I have seen too many examples of hatred to believe that this world is a good place, so I must change that one human encounter at a time. I am going to spend every day finding the beauty in this life, because without beauty why breathe? I am going to create the beauty by fostering the love and illustrating the simple things that make this life worth living. I am going to leave every life I enter better than I found it and strive to truly understand my fellow man. Because in the end people suck, life sucks, and everyone hurts you...but that doesn't mean I am going to idly participate in this phenomena we call human nature. Instead I am going to create my own nature by showing more love than hate, and trying to make this world something I can call home.
Maybe this is just another swing-set adventure where I am creating my own life, but at least it will be beautiful one.
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