Flower Of The Mind

We’ve all heard the quote; Ignorance is bliss. Basically, what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Or, the less you know, the happier you are. I prefer the word innocence instead of ignorance. Innocence is bliss. Just take a look at children. Yeah sometimes they go through random and unexplainable tantrums, but for the most part they are innocently beautiful and blissful. Why? Their lives are simple. They live contently. Their thoughts are pure and intentions are sweet. But as they get older and become increasingly aware of their surroundings as well as the pain and suffering in the world, they lose their envied innocence.

Today’s date marks a nadir in my life; the anniversary of the day I lost a brother and a lot of my innocence. As most people do when they lose a loved one, I went through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

I feel that after we go through this process, a part of us dies. Our core involuntarily learns to calmly repress certain feelings, emotions and sensations. We end up enfolding and carrying with us a bit of bitterness. We start watching everything around us from a neutral viewpoint; accepting reality as part of what is. In a sense, we learn to betray hope.

But somehow we have to move on and continue living. Because just like Anna Nalick put it; “you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable and life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button.” We just have to keep on breathing.

No matter how much we want to, there’s nothing we can do to bring back our loved ones in the physical form. But I know and believe in this. Our loved ones never truly pass away. They only will once we dismiss them from our memory. And for that reason, I will always cherish my brother and his precious memories.

I found this poem while going through some of my old stuff. I wrote it back in 2003 for a High School English Class.

Remember

Darkness swells in my eyes
In my mouth words soar
Rainbows disappear in the skies
And tears start to pour

Trying to understand is not easy
How the world can be so cold
Stealing souls away very scary
Not wanting to be told

My brother we’ll always remember
In our hearts he stays
He might be gone forever
But a part of memories remains

Trying to understand is not easy
How the world can be so cold
Stealing souls away very scary
Not wanting to be told

The moon can and will rise
The sun probably will set
The world might close its eyes
But I won’t ever forget

Trying to understand is not easy
How the world can be so cold
Stealing souls away very scary
Not wanting to be told

In the winter, everything dies. Or seems to. The trees lose their leaves. The grass fades. Nothing grows. Nothing is green. Logically, though, we know that it is just a period of rest.

Well, spring returned and the trees are beginning to flower again. Daffodils and tulips are blooming and soon enough, everything will come back to life.

I, myself, was in a period of rest this past winter. Beautiful and colorful new season, I welcome you! Thank you for improving my mood and reawakening my spirit.

Usually, most of us embrace this fresh season with cleaning, spring cleaning! I have a new idea this year! Forget spring cleaning! Let’s hire a maid service (or clean at night if on a budget ) and spend our precious time outdoors instead.

Come on! Go outside and smell the freshness. You know you want to! Unless you have allergies. Actually, so what?! In that case, just don’t forget your Benadryl – or whatever you take – on your way out! : ) and bless you!

Oh, how I love nature! Most of all, the beach! My awaited trip to Cancun was finally here. My plane had landed and I was already changing in my resort room.

I needed to get to that beach. I anticipated that moment for months. And that moment was about to become a reality!

The months I waited seemed like nothing compared to the elevator trip. When the door opened, I immediately felt my eyes roaming around as if I was trying to find a sincerely missed amigo.

The sound of the waves lured me towards them. I felt the breeze caressing my hair, the warmth of the sun embracing my skin and the aroma of the Caribbean Sea as I inhaled deeply. At first I felt each individually, but when my toes reached the waves of the most beautiful and pristine blue water…I was awakened with all the senses at once. It was a moment of serenity.

When you’re able to enjoy a moment like that, its memory lingers longer. And when you find yourself reminiscing it, your soul triggers your senses and you are able to relive that moment in slow motion.

To many more moments like these, cheers! Salud! See you when I’m sober…

We all have a story…and we each have a book in progress on the shelf of time.

When we meet others, we pick up their book.

Sometimes, we choose to only read the cover. Other times, we dig in and read a few more pages.

But every so often, we meet those who make us want to become part of their story!

At first sight, they grasp our attention and then we find ourselves flipping each page in anticipation for the next.

Soon enough, they become part of our story too. And if fate permits it, our pages start to intertwine creating an everlasting beautiful story….