Love
Reality
“I think
the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of reality because illusion
never leaves us ultimately happy.”
Parker
Palmer
So, the Chicago Cubs and
the Cleveland Indians are three games into the World Series. Fans in
both cities, and around the country, have quite literally been
waiting their entire lifetimes to see this spectacle. Both cohorts
have been saying, “This is our year! I just know it!” I've never
seen such elation (and desperation) in the people I know who support one team or the
other. I told my friend, Janice, who's Chicago born and bred, and a rabid Cubs fan, that I
didn't think I'd ever wanted anything that much in my whole life.
Ultimately, one team will win and one will lose—that's just
reality. What happens then?
So, you meet this
incredible human being—maybe on-line, maybe through friends. You
can't believe your good fortune when they express that undeniable
flash of interest that says, “Hey, we could be more than friends.”
You pursue, they respond, and it becomes “a thing”—a good
thing, an amazing thing, a glorious thing! You're over-the-top happy.
You meet the family; they love you, you love them, and all is going
swimmingly, until one day some little, insignificant, something
happens, and your glorious creature throws a good-old, full-out,
cursing, foot-stomping temper tantrum right in front of you. Whoa.
You've never seen this side of Beautiful before. What happens then?
Reality tests us. It
shapes us. It's never one-sided, or all shiny-bright forever. Right
beside beautiful, incredible, and full of light, there are shadows,
shade, black nights of the soul. The question is, how do we deal with
the darker side of reality? Can we still be happy if the Cubs lose,
or the Indians? What if Incredible Creature turns out to have some
pretty dark character flaws? Do we tuck and run? Do we forgo the
light and beauty because it comes attached to some dark and ugly? Can
we experience that darkness, and still be happy to be here? Here's
what Parker Palmer says: “Even when life challenges us, it's a gift
beyond all measure.” I believe that. I'll bet you do, too.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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