Saturday, December 09, 2006
The Land of Discontent
I wrote the land of discontent some time ago but the advice still rings true. I hope you find it helpful in living the life you were intended to live.
Don
There once was a land where the politicians were so convinced that everyone should share the pain that they passed laws to confiscate money from people who were doing well to give to those who were not. They also declared, in the law of the land, that no one could be happy all the time. This story is about one couple living in that land who were extremely happy most of the time. As you might have guessed, this story has a moral to teach to those for whom it is aimed.
Marisa was married to the man of her dreams, Renaldo. They were extremely happy most of the time. Renaldo gave little presents to Marisa as surprises, brought her flowers often, worked side by side with her on their house and in their garden and was a loving and giving companion for her. He loved her beyond reason and showed it to her every chance he got. Marisa loved Renaldo very deeply and spent much time telling him of her love and doing many kind, loving things for him. She spent herself on him continuously, but it was not a burden to her because of her love for him and because he loved her so much, she did not mind working hard for his happiness. They gave themselves to each other every day and life for them was happy most of the time.
Because of the law that declared that no one could be happy all the time, both of them were forced to spend time with people who made their lives miserable for the time they had to spend with that awful person. Marisa had to spend hours and sometimes days with a hateful man named Desi. Desi made Marisa’s life very miserable by making fun of her, forcing her to do all his work around his house without appreciation, and generally making her afraid of him. Desi actually never laid a finger on her, but his attitude and countenance was such that she became very paranoid in his presence. Desi would sometimes come up and kiss her and put his arms around her in somewhat of a mocking fashion and then later on that day, call her names and make fun of her until her self concept was very low.
Marisa would go home to Renaldo from these forced encounters and just spend hours crying on his shoulder about having to go to Desi’s house at the governments command. Renaldo had a similar situation to go to, but usually never on the same day as Marisa and this added chaos to their otherwise happy lives. After many years of this situation, Renaldo had had all he could stand. He decided to move out of the country, to a neighboring country where freedom to love and be loved continuously was not a crime punishable by being forced into painful relationships. Marisa on the other hand was afraid to move because this country, with all its flaws was all she had known. She tried to get Renaldo to move by himself into the free country next to theirs so he could be happy while she would stay for fear of the unknown. Renaldo declined to move without her for he knew that the reason he was happy at all was because of their love for each other.
What a dilemma this situation was for them. They both desperately wanted to be free to love each other but Marisa could not bring herself to face the unknown, no matter how awful the encounters with Desi were. At least she knew what to expect, and what if Renaldo ever decided he wanted another? This of course was never on Renaldo’s mind as his love for her was overwhelming. He knew his happiest moments were the result of his love for Marisa and her love for him. What were they to do? What would you do if you were Marisa, dear reader? Does fear of the unknown and what might be, tie your hands to decisions you might be making? Are you afraid of hurting even those who appear to dislike you by the decisions you make?
I can not leave the story where it is because I love happy endings. Marisa finally took a deep breath and decided to move with Renaldo to the other country of freedom. The move was difficult and fraught with dangers and threats from the government as well as Desi. Once in the other country, the fear slowly passed for Marisa and she came alive finally with the realization that her dreams of love and passion were finally fulfilled. She and Renaldo, though their lives were far from perfect in this new country, gave themselves to each other and their love took over. Her fears of Renaldo looking for another woman were never realized and later on she looked back on her move as traumatic but one she would do again. Though the government of the other country and Desi harassed them for the first year of their new lives, finally they gained peace and knew they would grow old together, happily in each other loving arms.
The moral is of course, if you are in a situation that seems unbearable yet you are afraid to move for fear of the unknown, take your time and view all possibilities. If you make the decision to move toward happiness, then take steps, one at a time until you are at the place you can move to make your dreams come true. Will these things be easy to accomplish? No, they will be difficult. Will you be happy always if you decide to move? No one can promise happiness always. Just make the decision that will have the greatest chances to bring the longed for happiness your way. Everyone deserves happiness. Not all choose it for the fears in their lives. My wishes and prayers are for you dear reader if this story speaks to you. I pray you will realize that when a white rose is offered you, most likely it is a rose and not a dandelion in disguise. Most of life is made of hard decisions. Most things that are worth having are not gained by standing still but in moving, ever so slowly toward your goal with perseverance in the face of adversity.
Remember that someone loves you! His love shines through all of our situations and circumstances. Be bold, and take the life He gives you in your hands. His hands are on yours, so if you fall in anything, he will surely pick you up and help you on your way. This life He gives is an adventure, so stand up, move and live.
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Don
There once was a land where the politicians were so convinced that everyone should share the pain that they passed laws to confiscate money from people who were doing well to give to those who were not. They also declared, in the law of the land, that no one could be happy all the time. This story is about one couple living in that land who were extremely happy most of the time. As you might have guessed, this story has a moral to teach to those for whom it is aimed.
Marisa was married to the man of her dreams, Renaldo. They were extremely happy most of the time. Renaldo gave little presents to Marisa as surprises, brought her flowers often, worked side by side with her on their house and in their garden and was a loving and giving companion for her. He loved her beyond reason and showed it to her every chance he got. Marisa loved Renaldo very deeply and spent much time telling him of her love and doing many kind, loving things for him. She spent herself on him continuously, but it was not a burden to her because of her love for him and because he loved her so much, she did not mind working hard for his happiness. They gave themselves to each other every day and life for them was happy most of the time.
Because of the law that declared that no one could be happy all the time, both of them were forced to spend time with people who made their lives miserable for the time they had to spend with that awful person. Marisa had to spend hours and sometimes days with a hateful man named Desi. Desi made Marisa’s life very miserable by making fun of her, forcing her to do all his work around his house without appreciation, and generally making her afraid of him. Desi actually never laid a finger on her, but his attitude and countenance was such that she became very paranoid in his presence. Desi would sometimes come up and kiss her and put his arms around her in somewhat of a mocking fashion and then later on that day, call her names and make fun of her until her self concept was very low.
Marisa would go home to Renaldo from these forced encounters and just spend hours crying on his shoulder about having to go to Desi’s house at the governments command. Renaldo had a similar situation to go to, but usually never on the same day as Marisa and this added chaos to their otherwise happy lives. After many years of this situation, Renaldo had had all he could stand. He decided to move out of the country, to a neighboring country where freedom to love and be loved continuously was not a crime punishable by being forced into painful relationships. Marisa on the other hand was afraid to move because this country, with all its flaws was all she had known. She tried to get Renaldo to move by himself into the free country next to theirs so he could be happy while she would stay for fear of the unknown. Renaldo declined to move without her for he knew that the reason he was happy at all was because of their love for each other.
What a dilemma this situation was for them. They both desperately wanted to be free to love each other but Marisa could not bring herself to face the unknown, no matter how awful the encounters with Desi were. At least she knew what to expect, and what if Renaldo ever decided he wanted another? This of course was never on Renaldo’s mind as his love for her was overwhelming. He knew his happiest moments were the result of his love for Marisa and her love for him. What were they to do? What would you do if you were Marisa, dear reader? Does fear of the unknown and what might be, tie your hands to decisions you might be making? Are you afraid of hurting even those who appear to dislike you by the decisions you make?
I can not leave the story where it is because I love happy endings. Marisa finally took a deep breath and decided to move with Renaldo to the other country of freedom. The move was difficult and fraught with dangers and threats from the government as well as Desi. Once in the other country, the fear slowly passed for Marisa and she came alive finally with the realization that her dreams of love and passion were finally fulfilled. She and Renaldo, though their lives were far from perfect in this new country, gave themselves to each other and their love took over. Her fears of Renaldo looking for another woman were never realized and later on she looked back on her move as traumatic but one she would do again. Though the government of the other country and Desi harassed them for the first year of their new lives, finally they gained peace and knew they would grow old together, happily in each other loving arms.
The moral is of course, if you are in a situation that seems unbearable yet you are afraid to move for fear of the unknown, take your time and view all possibilities. If you make the decision to move toward happiness, then take steps, one at a time until you are at the place you can move to make your dreams come true. Will these things be easy to accomplish? No, they will be difficult. Will you be happy always if you decide to move? No one can promise happiness always. Just make the decision that will have the greatest chances to bring the longed for happiness your way. Everyone deserves happiness. Not all choose it for the fears in their lives. My wishes and prayers are for you dear reader if this story speaks to you. I pray you will realize that when a white rose is offered you, most likely it is a rose and not a dandelion in disguise. Most of life is made of hard decisions. Most things that are worth having are not gained by standing still but in moving, ever so slowly toward your goal with perseverance in the face of adversity.
Remember that someone loves you! His love shines through all of our situations and circumstances. Be bold, and take the life He gives you in your hands. His hands are on yours, so if you fall in anything, he will surely pick you up and help you on your way. This life He gives is an adventure, so stand up, move and live.
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