Poetic Reflections: happy endings

Reality check: Life is not a fairytale in case you weren’t aware, and it isn’t always fair. Sometimes it ends badly. Sometimes it begins badly. Sometimes the middle goes from bad to worse. Which is not quite as bad as from worse to dismal, and certainly not as bad as from dismal to abysmal. So cheer up if things get worse. They’re usually not as bad as they might be if they were even worse than worse!

Just trying to be positive.

For some of us there will be more downs than ups, more bad times and tidings than good. Unfortunately, some of us are born less fortunate than others. We can hope our luck will improve but not everyone is destined to live happily ever after, despite what we are raised to believe is possible. Often, for every winner there must be a loser, in every victory another’s defeat. Thus, one person’s happy ending may result in another’s tragedy.

I know what you’re thinking: You call this positive???

Yet it is picking up the pieces following a disaster or downfall that truly defines us.

When we lose, if we see ourselves as losers then that is what we will be. If, however, we look for a trace of good out of the bad — we can wring our hankies and find the strength in our disconsolate hearts, our dilapidated spirits to go on. We just never know. It could be that defeat, that tragedy which leads to our greatest triumph somewhere down the road. We can always dream.

Whatever Life may hold, it behooves each of us to strive to be a better person. Better than those who plot or side or turn against us.

I myself do not care for serious competitions or manipulative games. I prefer to participate in something for fun, and I am generally relieved to be out of a contest because I really don’t need the pressure! Some people are ruthless and aggressive, whereas I attempt to avoid confrontations. When forced, I will stand up for those I care about and what I believe. But so much of Life seems to involve contention and rivalry.

Must disagreements between or within nations be settled by war? Do we have to compete in order to succeed? Is it a requirement to do or be or look better than others? (The ones who aren’t plotting or siding or turning against us, that is. Also the ones who aren’t committing crimes against Nature, humanity, or themselves. We should definitely try to do better than them!)

I know, I know, some things may never change. Then again, not everything may need to.

In accepting what can’t be changed, marching forward regardless of how tattered and torn, standing up to adversity however painful, we show precisely who we are. Those who cannot accept losses gracefully and live with respect, who connive and contrive out of envy or spite or avarice to bring about the ending they desire, ultimately lie defeated upon the cosmic field of battle. They may win for a while, but they will sacrifice their souls.

Life is a constant struggle against forces from without as well as from within. It is our duty to ourselves and those we love to maintain our integrity and withstand the tribulations, the temptations and trials that Life flings at us to the best of our ability. In that, I believe, is found our dignity . . . our nobility . . . our courage.

If we fail in this, the consequences can devastate. Yet all of us will fail at some point or other, for Life is as much a learning process as a progression and we must learn from its lessons until the end of our days.

Perhaps it is possible to overcome a life of misfortune and eventually flourish if we keep the right attitude. Perhaps that fairytale ending might still be possible after a long dark journey. No fairytale goes placidly from start to finish. They are fraught with obstacles and perils. Perhaps it is how we pick up our pieces and put them back together that will determine our Fate.

I want to believe that we can control to some extent our happy endings. For one thing, we can be happy with the way things are or endeavor to change them in some positive direction. We can find things that make us happy. The world has much to offer. But we must not seek our own satisfaction at the expense of others.

I have picked myself up and patched myself up on numerous occasions. I like to think I’ve done a pretty decent job. My life hasn’t gotten any smoother in the fifth decade, but I like to think it could. I like to think that there could be a happy ending for all of us — that the conflicts great and small of the world can be solved, and each of us might win in our own turn.

On that note I think I’ll write some poems. This in itself is a risk. I never know how they’ll turn out; I simply have to trust myself. I don’t trust easily. Trust is one of those things we should handle with care and use with caution.

My poems are the product of my imagination, and I hope now and then they capture yours. Some are born of whimsy. Others seem to spring forth out of madness or terror. Some are a reflection of my soul. I do not write them to be judged, critiqued, or even praised. I write them for me. And for the sake of sharing.

It is in sharing the depths of our souls that we are truly alive.