Standing atop the hill called life, we witness the rising and falling waves of our triumphs and trials in the ever-deepening ocean of time; an ocean whose pristine depths hide nothing yet only reveal their secrets to those who seek its treasures with an honest heart. Such people behold the truth of their lives, reflected upon the silent but endlessly turbulent surface of these waters. Thus looking deep within ourselves, we can see the countless colors and shades of our thoughts and feelings, emotions and experiences, ties and relations with which over time He, The Almighty adorns our lives.
Each distinct in its beauty, they color our existence with a lesson unique to their nature. Our pains teach us a patient understanding of our affairs. Our sufferings school us in the art of endurance and foresight. Our pleasures guide us to gratitude and humility. Our delights make us breathe in the fragrance of His love and blessings. When we meet each other, our lives are intertwined forever and our realities are woven into each other’s memories, warming our hearts with a strange, unconscious affinity that goes beyond the scope of our usual understanding.
Nevertheless today most of us are so caught up in our own overwhelming feelings and reactions that such words appear little more than a utopian dream, unattainable but soothing to think about. As a result, when apparently the flow of our lives turns against us, a confused sense of hatred clouds our judgment and darkens our vision. A bitterness cold as ice, born out of a betrayal of trust or a severed relationship invades our hearts, mars our faith and innocence with the harshness of our experiences. It makes us believe that the only bond we can share with others is that of a ruthless competition or of a mutual distrust. Consequently, our past regrets, present conflicts, and future worries shroud the beauty of our lives and persuade us to view the world as a bleak and barren place. Is life truly that colorless? Or is it this shroud of our dark imaginings that veils the true colors of our existence?
The answer that I have discovered in my four and twenty years of life is that the beauty of life can only be admired by those who understand the significance of their contributions in the great unfolding of this universe. Who realize that there lies a great power in our choices. Often, we are offered a choice, to be consumed by the grey black shades of our miseries or to paint the blank canvases of our lives in the heavenly colors of our essence. The golden glow of an unwavering faith, the red-hot flames of a dauntless courage and an unshakable resolve, the brilliant blue aura of peace and calmness that one acquires in discovering one’s true self, and the bright yellow warmth that radiates from an honest friendship. Such is the blend of miraculous colors and their innumerable shades that I found to be the beauty of life.
In essence, fate draws for us the image of our lives. Whether it turns out to be dark and dreary or bright and beautiful depends on the color of our choices. And interestingly enough just as there is an infinite number of individual characters so is there a variety of uniquely beautiful lives. Every existence has a color of its own as beautiful as the heart of its painter.