It’s also my job to place clients’ sites at the top of search engine rankings.

Today I found an old friend’s obituary there.

I then proceeded to spend the next 2 hours trying to prove that little excerpt wrong until I found a news item relating to her passing, and I was forced to accept the painful reality. She was 32.

‘Gutted’ and ‘shocked’ would be a good start to describe my initial spine-chilled reactions.

This is not going to be a long-winded discussion on how short life is, and what we make of it. It’s simply a reflection on how sometimes we find things we would never expect (or like) on what we have come to take for granted as a primary source of instant information gratification, and the horrifying news it can provide on such a personal level.

Panta rei,  amiga mia. Descansa en paz.

Back in the 4^th millennium B.C., our ancestors wrote on clay tablets, making greater use of their brains to retain what was being instructed. Eventually we upgraded to quills and pens and leather-bound notebooks. Now we have magically come ‘full circle’ with cute touch-screen offspring that allow us to wirelessly access vast sources of information, without having to write anything down; worst of all, without having to memorise it. This has become our latest human development in brain function – coordinating our interactions on screen to conjure up a ludicrous amount of data we are hardly capacitated to remember these days. We are left wanting for more and dangerously retaining less.

Unfortunately, Generation Y seems to be in truth a Generation ADD or even ADHD, considering the constant bombardment of news, information, and distractions that seem so important to us now. Many people wouldn’t even realise how limited their attention span is as they are too busy skimming from one thing to the next – in fact, this trait seems to be a given these days.

Likewise, few of those living in the developed countries would know to tell which phase the moon is in to understand their heightened sensitivities, or find their bearings at night based on the stars. We are so married to our gadgets and internet that we have forgotten the most basic elements of survival. It is frightening, to say the least, given the geographical turmoil we are all experiencing in different parts of the world. Not to put apocalyptic fears into anyone’s heads, yet the reality is such that so many people are ill-prepared for even reading their location in a new city, without some artefact to show them colourful lines on a virtual map to get from point to point (“Turn left at the next corner. Drive a hundred meters. Turn right. Turn right. You missed it…”).

We think we have reduced the clutter by putting all our books and music into a little pocketsize hard drive with a fancy screen, and yet we panic if that expensive toy gets broken. The stress levels can be more dramatic than losing a shipment of boxes containing the same items in their original format. Just like squirrels, we have a deeply rooted habit of hoarding.

Cut.

Pan to the right side of the brain…

Picture a lush garden with waterfalls and a soft breeze tickling the tree branches. There might be squirrels.

Cue the Zen approach to life…

Whilst it seems we are increasingly drawn towards subliminal slavery to technology, we are also learning to make great use of it. Now you can sit on a bus and read up on the latest nutritional benefits of quinoa, or listen to podcasts of your preferred spiritual mentor.

A lot of us crave a more meaningful existence. Daring to explore our inner callings, decompose anxieties, break destructive patterns, understand what it really means to be human.

Not everyone is going to take off on a weekend yoga retreat, where you can make a more concentrated effort on healing body, mind and soul. I have tried this and quite enjoyed it… admittedly being yoga’d out by the third and final day (hey, it was my first time). I even took my iPod and laptop so I could get some quality writing done between sessions, and found that I never touched one or the other, choosing instead to pull out a book and read it in charming outdoor silence, with hints of a few birds possibly discussing lunch plans.

It would seem these attitudes are at opposite ends of our existential spectrum, yet there is a growing number of people who are sitting somewhere in the middle… technological advances on one hand, determination to maintain all-round balance in their lives on the other.

So, whilst I am hopeful of our natural instinct to nourish spiritual endeavours, embrace deeper relationships with one another, and harbour a more holistic approach towards our personal development… I do of course love a cute gadget that will give me a friendly reminder to step away from the computer, pick up my fountain pen to go write in the sun, and call to wish you a happy birthday. Not to mention play my favourite tunes as I’m walking towards the coffee shop.

The technology around us is advancing at the speed of procreating rabbits, and yet humankind itself can get lazy and lost in this  myriad of gadgetry, thinking we are evolving through it as a species.

Therefore, I would encourage you to ask yourself if all those fancy little toys are truly enabling a more relaxed, meaningful, clutter-free lifestyle, or if they are inadvertently causing more stress than you originally anticipated. Are they truly helping you enhance as a person, or stupefying you? True balance comes from internal focus, not from shiny little objects…

So why have we turned our backs on our innate ability to look a challenge in the eyes and say, “I can do this”?

It seems so much time and energy gets misdirected on talking about our problems, instead of actually resolving them. Too many people thrive on this, and it’s a shame. And yet it can be very easy to get caught up in that dynamic when surrounded by others who mostly discuss their issues with no real focus on how to resolve them. In fact, I wonder what the carbon footprint is for talking crap these days – I’m sure the results would be shocking.

When I try to explain to some people how even the words we use can affect the outcome of our intentions, they look at me with evident confusion and doubt. They cannot envision how saying, “I want peace,” is better than “I don’t want drama,” because somehow to them, “I don’t want drama,” implies that they want peace – yet, that is not what they are saying. With so many people talking this same ‘language’ it is no wonder that things tend to work out less favourably.

The energy we share is akin to the way we breathe. If we sit huddled over ourselves all day, our ability to breathe becomes limited, and we feel less motivated, less interested. Yet if we pull our shoulders back and breathe in a healthy lungful of air, our attitude changes; so too does the flow of things around us. Go on, try it.

When people say ignorance is bliss, it truly can be… as long as we are not living in denial of our responsibilities, and by responsibilities, I mean with ourselves. It is also very easy to shift our focus towards external demands as opposed to internal necessities, and the danger lies in letting these so-called responsibilities dictate our lives, putting up walls of excuses between our inner inspiration and the passion to make things happen.

I can say hand on heart that this past year has been my most challenging so far, on many levels. Whilst I am grateful for the love, support and friendships that I have been blessed with in this time, there has been a lot of struggle to overcome obstacles, reach new levels of understanding, and generally remember that choices made are neither good nor bad, merely lessons to move along the path of life, even if we hurt or get hurt.

I have joked in recent months that my learning curve has been so steep I needed grappling hooks. Since I’ve always loved the idea of climbing mountains, the analogy seems fitting.

And that is what I am used to – making things happen and ‘climbing mountains’. Scaling new rocks and reaching the pinnacle, only to look back and remind myself of where I have come from, how far, and how much I have achieved. It is amazing, even with the hardships. I encourage you to do the same for yourself.

Wherever you are, take a few minutes to look back, thank and forgive others for what you have experienced with them. Most importantly, thank and forgive yourself. Remember that while so many other people’s lives have been literally destroyed by physical earthquakes, it is amazing to be alive, breathing, whole, here, and now. Even if you’re not quite where you’d rather be, you’re probably where you’re meant to be. If your best friend managed to finish the triathlon and you’re still on the treadmill building up stamina, it’s alright. You’ll get there when it’s time.

Tomorrow it may stop raining, you may have more money in your pocket, you may find the person you will spend the rest of your life with. But remember within all of that, it is you who makes your life what it is. You who choose to be happy, you who choose to aspire to a better self, you who share the wealth of your soul with others, you who go to sleep with your thoughts regardless of who might lie beside you.

And when you wake up in the morning, welcome yourself back to this existence. Whatever direction you take in life, you can change your mind at any time, but always try to change it for the better, even when faced with adversity from others (they won’t always understand you). Allow yourself the freedom to pick up a new canvas in life, large or small, and embrace the possibilities of what you can do with it. After all, what do the first three letters of the word  ‘canvas’ tell you?

On that note, better get some more chalk…

Amazing – Seal (watch the video)

Everyone says you’re amazing

You say you don’t know, how to do it now,
So you run,
It’s not that you’re bleeding, but you through it now,
So you run, so you run,
I know that you need it, you can’t live alone,
So you run, so you run…

Everyone says you’re amazing
Now that you’re clean
Only you know who the real one are, cause you’ve seen
There is only one question I want to ask, is it healing when you’re here
Everyone see you’re amazing

Does anyone ask you?

If you cry in your sleep and do you feel okay
When you run,
Thinking its doomsday, you got to let it go,
So you run, so you run…

Pretend you don’t see it, that way we can live the lie, when you run…
So you run..

Everyone says you’re amazing
Now that you’re clean
Only you know who the real one are, cause you’ve seen
There is only one question I want to ask, is it healing when, when you’re hear
Everyone see you’re amazing

Does anyone ask you…?
Cause I know that you real, amazing, amazing, amazing…

Everyone says you’re amazing
Now that you’re clean
Only you know who the real ones are, because you’ve seen
There is only one question I want to ask, is it healing when you’re hear
Everyone sees you’re amazing

Everyone says amazing
You’re amazing
(I want you to always feel amazing)
You’re amazing
(I want you to always feel amazing)
You’re amazing

As a child growing up in southern Spain, I used to know more or less what each season would be like, even though realistically we only seemed to have two seasons – summer and winter. In a land full of pine trees, olive groves and palm tree-riddled beaches, the colour of the landscape rarely changed from what I would call ‘dusty Andalusian green’

I remember seeing snow on the Sierra Blanca mountains maybe three times before I was anywhere near my teens. It was practically unheard of in that area, being so close to the salty Mediterranean air. In the last few years, however, it has become an almost yearly occurrence, with snow-capped mountains shining in the glistening January morning sunlight. The temperatures began to drop substantially, and I loved sitting at my desk gazing at the funny white stuff that I’d only ever heard of or seen in photographs and television programmes. I always dreamt of a White Christmas but didn’t actually have one until I was 29 and on a different continent.

Newcomers would ask me what the seasonal trends were, and eventually I had to tell them to expect anything. Usually, the rain would still fall religiously during the Holy Week processions in late spring, and the mixture of heat and humidity in August would make even the toughest locals crawl indoors with the A/C on full blast and cold beer on their minds, or cause sporadic summer storms.

There were a few drought restrictions, and water usage was made available from 1 to 2 in the morning one summer that I recall. Sadly though, the projected construction of up to 200 golf courses along the southern Mediterranean coast has chewed into the land, with many town halls falling prey to personal greed and the ability to see only as far as their own noses are concerned in terms of true sustainable community growth and development. Towns are crawling up to the water’s edge, overstepping legal requirements to push them back and preserve the natural coastline. Everybody wants to live near the water, and it never seems to be near enough. There shall be no pity when the increasing storms wash away pretty terraces and neighbours watch their expensive imported south-Asian furniture wash away, only to generate even more man-made underwater debris. I wonder what future marine biologists will make of this.

I used to tend my neighbour’s garden as a part time job. It eventually paid for the piano I proudly bought myself one year for my birthday. Besides teaching me that hard work and saving up can make for a focused and meaningful purchase, it also taught me a lot about nature and how to take care of it. I realised that poor water usage means that even if we have enough water available, we may still be wasting it and causing further harm to our surroundings. What you will see more often than not in the south of Spain (I can’t say much for anywhere else), is gardens and recreational areas being watered at midday, which is the worst time for such endeavours. Not only are plants put to risk by burning in the heat with fresh water on their leaves, thus countermining the efforts to keep the grass luscious and green, but also more water is used as part of it evaporates in the heat before reaching the ground. Gardening 101; water in the evening after the sun has gone down… the plants will be happy, and you will use less water, helping the environment all-round.

The south of Spain is currently undergoing a desertification process. This can be seen clearly in any progression of satellite imagery of the region. Scientists agree that the land is eroding, and partly because of the urbanisational rape of the region. The land is dry, property construction destroys its natural resources to protect itself from the harsh changes in temperature and climate, and therefore unable to regenerate. Paid pyronamiacs have destroyed acres of land in the past for companies to push for re-classification of barren terrain in order to feed their hungry bank accounts and build so-called ‘self-sustainable’ urbanisations (which actually require even more water usage for all the different plants they cram in to create pretty landscaped gardens for foreigners who run away from colder climates).

The rain that does fall lately is not always enough to nourish the land and fill the dams that provide fresh water to nearby populations. But recently there has been an increase in severe storms, and the damages caused are beyond imagination, because where once there was nothing but greenery, now the water pours through concrete rivers with nothing to slow it down but then open sea. Say a little prayer for those who stand in its way…

We have gone to an extreme that nobody quite dares to grasp, and those who try to propose changes and innovative concepts for water containment and optimal usage, are often pushed down by the greed and ignorance of people who should not hold such powers over decisions like this that affect us all.

In the ‘Blue Gold: World Water Wars’ (directed by Sam Bozzo, 2008) documentary, we are told that corporations are buying up ‘rights’ throughout the world in order to ‘manage’ water for everyone. Those who fear large businesses dominating any industry inevitably question their true intentions behind this move towards water sustenance. Is it a genuine interest in the world’s better management of this liquid gold, or are their potential dangers for power plays between regions and countries? After all, we know that the basic needs of a human being are what causes the greatest strife and often leads to wars. We have already gone through major conflicts over land, ideology, religion, fuel, and it is only natural – pun intended – that we should focus on humanity’s primary necessity besides oxygen (no doubt, that will be next if it isn’t already lined up on somebody’s agenda).

Children in far-away countries die each day from lack of water. Some countries still do not have a healthy water system to ensure that they are not drinking parasites that will kill them later on. Also take into account the fact that in the developing world, about 90% of all waste water is then returned to local rivers and streams.

Where some parts of the world are denied rainwater, others are flooded constantly – either way many people suffer the consequences of too much or none at all. Both man and nature have inadvertently conspired to engage in sabotaging acts of violence upon us. Mother nature is tired, and humanity is short-sighted. It is not an easy task to correct either ailment, but it is our duty and obligation as individuals and communities, and for existing and future generations, to channel our attention to this crucial issue.

The next time you complain about the rain flooding your garage, think of the vast developments in your hometown that have destroyed nature’s basic cycle. Think of the cracks in the earth somewhere across the world that have not seen a drop of rain in years, and ask if anyone really cares to drill deeper and find underground water reserves that would regenerate such arid land, and who may have blocked this humanitarian effort and why. The next time you drink a glass of fresh water, remember the process it has gone through to get to you, and appreciate that in other countries, there is no such thing as water purification. Remember where we have come from in all this time, and fathom where we are going with the current tendencies.

Personally, I grew up by the water, it is where I find my peace and my healing. Everywhere I go, I seek the tantalising waves of an ocean, or the silence of sitting by a peaceful lake in the middle of nowhere in particular. I was born under a water sign. It is in the air that I breathe, it is the basic liquid I must drink to stay healthy. Interestingly enough, both our planet and the human body are made up of approximately the same 70% of water. Essentially, I am water. And so are you. What are we without it?

Written for the Blog Action Day initiative.

Love has mysterious ways – swoops gallantly with unforeseen magic, hides behind timid innocence, ebbs and flows, sometimes frustrates and confuses. The Warrior knew this but had lost his powers, worn thin by many battles.

When he told her he was trying, really he was trying to find his strength again. But damned if others, victims of their own bitterness and wallowing in resentment, would dare to poison the future, whatever it held in its enigmatic hands; time and space were mere puppets amid hyperactive fingers that flipped them around endlessly at will.

The sharp pains in his chest slowed his breathing. He wandered aimlessly through the village in the middle of the night, aching to see her and caution her on some people’s ulterior motives. But he had to respect her space during this time of separation, hoping and praying they would not inflict permanent damage. He had to trust her heart, no matter the cracks and pain it bore at this time, caused by him in the first place. Some people in the village were talking about it, judging his actions, and they had every right to protect her. But they did not know what he was going through, and there were moments when he was lost for answers; sadly, he knew this confused her, left her feeling like an outsider. But it was she who mattered most not them, even if he had not openly honoured that.

His stride was heavy and slow, unlike his confident gait of not so long ago but oh so far away. He struggled not to let the weight of the wait cause his knees to give in, sluggishly allowing his positive emotions to surface.

“Wash over me,” he told himself, “Wash over me and help me find myself again. Purge what is draining me and heal what is wounded, keep what is real and remove the layers of deceit that others have planted through their own insecurities. Lead me to that stable ground where the trees grow close enough to protect each other from the harsh winds of change, but far apart enough not to suffocate each other’s growth.”

He reached the water, his trusty companion in times of strife, and he listened to the voice of his reflection in the liquid mirror as its ripples hypnotised him into focus, “Embrace the recent faults you have been trapped by, because they serve as reminders you of who you are when you are at your best, when you are able, when the worries of the world are not capable of breaking your foundations, and you hold your power in both hands and lay it before her with quiet confidence to share and find her own strengths as well when they are low. This is the quality that has always made you stand out from the rest, and this is what has suffered the most hardship of late. Remember that when people say ‘Love is everything,’ it really does mean everything… it is the soft touch of her skin as she rolls into your arms in the morning, it is the sand that gets in your eyes and blinds you, the ocean that takes you far and wide into unimaginable places, an emotional kaleidoscope of possibilities. The soft breeze that cools you from the scorching heat of passion, the desert rose you almost overlooked in your exhaustion after so many battles. Too vulnerable to honour the most important element of life, too caught up in life itself to take time for true healing after every campaign.”

The Warrior was finally waking from deep emotional slumber, and when he finally rested his head on his pillow that night with renewed peace and resolve, he lay his hand on his heart and prayed that all was not lost.

Then, as time goes by – sometimes too quickly for our own personal satisfaction and subsequent disappointment – the relationship between us whittles to nothing. Time, ‘life’, circumstances, a change of energies and emotions… anything can affect the way we were yesterday and the way we will be tomorrow.

You try to understand them, respecting their space if that is what they ask of you. But if they are not forthcoming afterwards, there is only so much you can do before it tarnishes your heart and soul. You tell yourself this is just another growing pain, and march on stoically doing your best to fight the good fight.

You sense that the bridge may be burning, crumbling under your feet… but nobody tells you why. Who started the fire? Who should have been there to put it out? And what do you do with the pile of ashes that remains?

You wish them love and happiness, because you care. You do your best to show them compassion even though you may cry yourself to sleep at night out of frustration and confusion. You may never know what happened, or they might finally tell you 25 years later.

Forgive them, for they may be elsewhere in life and decided that you are not one to partake in their journeys – and for some reason they are not willing or able to tell you this. Forgive them, for perhaps life has decided that you are only to spend a very limited time in each other’s presence, and although the experiences may have been short-lived, the lessons learned will be with you forever. Forgive them, because maybe they will join your ranks again in the future, and you will welcome them with open arms to share your war stories in renewed awe of each other.

But in the meantime, because of the warmth of the burning embers in your chest, which is the only tangible thing you carry within… you thank them for all those little moments so far, leave the door open in case they wish to return, and then… you let them go.

The wind ushered past their mingled bodies – pushing them closer together, further apart; twisting the branches they clung to so delicately. This time, none fell. These were the first winds of autumn, and all but one had chameleoned into a pale gold.

The wind struck again. Three fell silently, landing several meters away, where they dangled for a moment before being swallowed by a hungry bush.

Only one survived. Even through winter.

Spring returned, and while new ones grew, the sole survivor told tales of that devastating autumn.

Then, one day, after the tree had regained its beautiful green overcoat, and all its new occupants were aware of the dangers to come, the one that had survived it all came to its timely end, falling calmly onto a bed of flowers.

Tree II

I guess my feathers are just as delicate as the leaves on that tree. They seem to hold better in strong winds though.

Every morning this past autumn, I watched the tree opposite mine lose its leaves. There was only one diehard.

I went away during winter – a little too cold for my likes in this region this time of year.

When I returned late spring, the tree was a happy shade of green again. Except for the diehard leaf, which had aged. It seemed to have been waiting for something. For what, I wouldn’t know; I’m an owl, not a leaf.

It fell from the tree this morning. Made me a little sad. Makes me wonder when I’ll fall off my tree.

Copyright © 2002 by Karin Pinter

The candle flickered, gasped, died in the stiff night.

Such things, happening the way they do, send us into a frenzied panic or a paused frenzy. I opted for the latter.

I’d waited long for her return after our sudden parting.

“Mother,” she said.

I smiled at my daughter’s ghost.

Copyright © 2001 by Karin Pinter

I’ve met several people lately who complain about the ‘drama’ in their lives. For a while, I sympathised with their woes, although as time goes by I am beginning to realise something strange about this thing called ‘drama.’

I’ve also been debating with several friends about the concepts of having more or less positive people in our lives, and what this really does for us. It seems we’ve all been sensitive to the positive and negative tendencies displayed in those who surround us. Friends have commented how stressed they feel at times because of this, and we’ve been wondering what is better; to surround yourself as much as possible by the positive, or allow for the negative to show us other perspectives we may not always consider from our positive attitudes. At the end of the day, each one plays their part, but we can make conscious choices that will attract more of one or the other.

So, just as we carry positivity inside, so do we have the potential to carry drama, although we don’t always look at ourselves as the source of that drama. We tend more to externalise it, blame adversity on others, and ignore deeper issues that lie within ourselves, and which we could often control if only we didn’t put ourselves in situations that have the potential to cause us stressful moments.

I also find it hard to understand how certain people, with seemingly headstrong characters, often tend to shy away from confrontations that would actually ease up tensions that keep them on edge about certain people or situations.

So the next time you find yourself stuck in the middle of a nightclub, absorbed by tensions of those around you, ask yourself how much of that stress you may have caused by simply not being able to let go of old emotions. Or perhaps we feel that somebody is interested in us beyond friendship, and we are scared of being alone with them for fear of being caught up in something awkward, but are we really scared of them or are we actually unsure of our own desires and reactions? Some people will choose to distance themselves in the hopes that the other person will ‘get the point’, but being evasive can send the wrong message, and the only way forward is to be verbally clear and honest all around.

It may not be easy at first, but until we take full ownership of our energy, we will risk being hypocrites far longer than we would ever wish to admit and get caught up in a vicious circle of our own short-sightedness.

   Resolution was born after Promise, son of Faith and Determination.  They were all noble and admirable in their own ways, but Resolution was jealous, short-tempered, and misleading.  He wanted to be revered as much as his brother but was always overshadowed by Promise’s achievements, and greatly resented this.  Everyone believed in Promise – he who fulfilled all his vows had won great respect from the populace over the years. Resolution knew he was not strong enough to overthrow Promise, so he decided to simply be his brother’s downfall, to the eventual detriment and sacrifice of what little power he did enjoy.

   One winter, during the season’s festivities, Resolution was introduced to Deception – one of his brother’s greatest enemies.  Together, they devised a plan to blacken Promise’s reputation. Resolution was not only immature at this time, but also very naïve.

   They chose the last day of the year to begin their coup.  While everyone was celebrating and becoming more inebriated, Deception and his friends spread the word that tonight was the best night to make a solemn self-commitment, to be carried out throughout the year.  It would be called the New Year’s Resolution, in honor of Promise’s brother.  At first, people were not convinced.  They knew Resolution to be a cheat, and did not wish to honor such a being, but as the alcohol went down faster and their senses became numb to intuition they fell prey to brainwash. 

 “Resolution is a changed man,” they were told, “And he wishes to mark the day of his reform with the populace as a sign of unity and friendship.  This vow he makes tonight with all of you present, he encourages you to undertake as well.  Make yourselves a deep and honorable commitment.  Anything, as long as you go through with it all the way.”

   The populace became intoxicated with this innovative concept, and was fervently enthused with the idea of setting a goal for itself – after all, the beginning of a new year was a perfect opportunity to mark the beginning of a new life. They began to embrace Resolution and invite him to their homes.

   However, Deception had his own plans to undermine everybody including Resolution, and as the months passed he transformed into dreams that eased into people’s minds while they slept.  He merged with their thoughts of a better tomorrow, and implanted seeds of his own self that would grow in short and pollute their unsuspecting minds, allowing Doubt to take control.  Little by little, they would stop pursuing their dreams and give up on their resolutions.

   With time, this affected their belief in making promises to themselves and others, and ultimately, they lost their faith in the promises of others.

   They became bitter, shunning Promise and his parents. Resolution realized what had happened but was nowhere to be seen by then.

   Trust – Promise’s true love – was the next to fall.  Nobody wanted to deal with her anymore.  The act of promising implied the act of trusting, of believing.  When you no longer believe you can count on someone, you begin to lose your love for Life and Friendship and fall into the clutches of Depression.

   At this point, Hope and Conviction stepped in with their army.  They tracked down Resolution, who was in hiding with his new lover Cowardice.  These were taken to the House of Love for judgment, from which Cowardice was soon to escape.

 “You,” Love began, “Who have spoiled the happiness of so many with your lies and treachery in order to satisfy your ego; what have you to say for yourself?”

  Resolution remained silent.

 “You have dared to deny to others that which you have selfishly taken for yourself, put your whole family in disgrace and turned away from them without looking back. Now, the woman you have been with these past weeks has deserted you. I ask only this; what have you truly gained from it all?”

 “I only wanted people to look upon me as they did my brother,” he finally stuttered, having been struck hard by Cowardice’s move.

 “We all have a place and a part to play, and some of us play bigger parts than others do, Resolution. I know it is very hard to understand at times, but we have to learn to accept it.”

   Resolution was holding back tears of betrayal. His fists were clenched, and his pain grew larger than the House of Love, which covered the face of the earth.

 “You must tell the populace what you have done, and work to restore their faith in your brother and family. If not, you shall continue to suffer the consequences of your own machinations; not because I say so, but because you made it happen this way.  Do you wish to be alone and cheated, Resolution?”

 “No,” he faintly replied.

   The task was not as hard as they had at first imagined.  Presented with the facts, the populace seemed ready to believe Promise again, although they naturally chastised Resolution for instigating this sorry state of affairs.  Peace and harmony were eventually restored, but something else was brewing within Resolution’s soul and his conscience would not let him find peace or comfort.

*  *  *

   They found Resolution’s sandals at the edge of the tall bridge that led to the House of Love the following New Year’s Day.  Nobody will ever know if he jumped or faked his death and disappeared, but he was never seen or heard of again. Every year since then, in order to commemorate him and to renew their faith in themselves, people make their New Year’s Resolution, knowing that even if they don’t fulfill it they will still believe in Promise and Trust.

Copyright 2001