Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Perceiving An Unreal Reality

Why is reality so very glum? No matter where we turn in today's society, it seems as though we are trapped in a black-and-white version of something that should be technicolor. The hassle known as daily life is full of disheartening stories and dull routines that leave us pining for the care-free days of our youth. As we grow older, we reach a point where childhood feels an inch away, and we revert back to an infantile peace. When we allow ourselves to perceive magic in the world, we are free to dream, hope, wish, and believe in reality as it is intended to be.

I am a child of seven years old, thriving upon the possibilities of a fascinating world. My expectations are great because my explorations are so very small, and I delight in expanding my horizons footstep by tiny footstep. I see playgrounds as kingdoms to be conquered, family dogs as noble steeds yet to be trained. And when the grown-ups tell me to come inside, my adventure is not abandoned at the threshold because to me there is no difference between that which is hoped for and that which is real. Life is a realm of intruiging enchantment when you are a child like me.

No longer in a juvenile state, I have been disillusioned by the twenty-five years I have lived. I recognized the folly of my puerile thoughts long ago, and have since been enlightened by the wisdom of maturity. I live in a new world now, a world of war, politics, scientific method, and tax deductibles. Surely, this is the reality that the grown-ups of my childhood knew. It is much more sensible, logical, provable; yet nostalgia taunts me with recollections of 'the good old days.' Life is a paradox, a complex equation, when you are an adult like me.

Twenty-five seems so far off, now that I have aged to sixty and seen magic first-hand. I laugh when I recall just how wise I thought I was, sealed off in my sterile bubble of modern scepticism. Now, I wish I'd kept those child-like eyes. Magic, just as I had suspected, is manifest in everything. I see it in my granddaughter's smile, in the changing of seasons that sing of my end, and between the pages of my journals. The grown-ups are gone, but they learned a lesson just as I did. Life is a quick moment of magic, when you are an old woman like me.

It is only in the beginning and the end that we understand reality, when we allow ourselves to dream, hope, wish, and believe in its magic. We cannot grow older or younger on a whim, but we can keep in our hearts the knowledge that the world is not what it seems. We may be discouraged and bored by what surrounds us, but perhaps there is a reason. The more we seek sensible answers to fill in black-and-white blanks, the less of this colorful world we will be able to understand. For reality is far from the dispirited haze it is believed to be.

5 Comments:

At January 19, 2006 1:21 AM, Blogger Andy said...

Erin for a 5 paragraph essay this was pretty amazing. For havig such a restricting form you did great. Rephrasing the sentences at the end gave it an interesting effect sort of like a children's book. Anywho if Miss Long doesn't give you an A she deserves to be dragged out into the street and shot. (maybe that's a bit harsh)

 
At January 20, 2006 10:47 AM, Blogger Mike said...

Hmm, other than the fact that I can claim some form of confidence in the fact that this post is essentially my post worded differently, there are a couple of things...

First, as to Skippy's enjoyment of the last sentence, I think the period should be a comma.

Your intro doesn't connect with your body paragraphs, other than theme, but I still like it. The lack of transition is a little distracting.

And google George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language." It is something I've always wanted to suggest about your writing, but I've just never had the words to say it. I do enjoy the piece, although there are a few more things I notice. I'll talk to you about them some other time.

leahciM

 
At January 24, 2006 8:04 PM, Blogger Erin Marie Hall said...

First, I believe you've overlooked the fact that you have in no way staked claim on the idea used in your post, especially since it is exceptionally broad.

Second, I'll talk to you later about the essay... I'm not sure what you're implying by suggesting it to me, but if it's what I think, I'm not very happy.

 
At January 25, 2006 1:28 PM, Blogger Mike said...

Well, the problem isn't that you used my idea, but you even used the language I used!

And what exactly do you think I am suggesting?

leahciM

 
At January 25, 2006 4:46 PM, Blogger Erin Marie Hall said...

What the hell kind of language would you have suggested I use, then? Obviously not the language I typically use, as the Orwell essay suggests. I'll talk to you later, or perchance not at all. Adieu.

 

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