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Is life just wishful desire or is there something more to finding peace and happiness? |
You knew nothing at birth Your mind a blank slate waiting to be written But you grew, accepted dogma Received experience, gained insight and observed the world Your fresh mind was filled with possibilities Proud announcements of what you would become Once you grew up Parents encouraged with guarded smiles Holding secrets they only knew From childhood to a young adult You found wings to fly Thoughts soared, ideas flashed across your mind You told your schoolmates what your future held They smiled and agreed, eyes glossed over You found a labored, imperfect world The fighting did not make sense Shouting of peace, men went to war The media reported bloodied bodies While soldiers' hopes of peace lay dead in their eyes You took a summer job and found The cost of living far more than a salary could bring The dreams of wealth lay subdued to pay the costs of an education The administration smiled And told you not to set your sites too high There was yet hope as you graduated A degree to proudly display as you began your journey Of wealth as you strove to fulfill those childhood dreams You told your fellow employees of your purpose of living They smiled, their hard stares emotionless Love led you to marriage, a new world opened Companionship to reach new dreams You found peace and love reflected in your honeymoon The ideas of lasting wealth and bliss Yet her parents smiled doubtfully, dubious You knew something was wrong Even as your child was born There was no time to reach dreams in the midst of responsibility A family needed caring, bills must be paid There was always tomorrow You discovered that responsibility required money Your job, once appreciated, lost its value to drudgery The need to pay bills and service a growing family Took preeminence Yet strangely, you know there had to be a better future Money did not come when you expected Soon your hopes rested on the spin of a roulette wheel The numbers on a lottery ticket Years passed and your dreams remained unfulfilled As you spent your days around the barbecue Your children bravely faced their world With the same glow of ambition The same hope you once had so many years before And all you could do was give them guarded smiles Like those your parents gave you The aches and pains and the diseases of age Crept up on you How those dreams slipped past so easily Only retirement would renew your commitment to living The eyes of your dying friends told you time was short There on your deathbed, you gave instructions Somehow life's purpose passed you by You paid your bills, as was expected You were too busy living in an impossible future That you neglected life in the present moment So many regret and relive the past While others fantasize about a future unknown When all that living really demands Is that you enjoy every indrawn breath The only real world you have is Now |