Paradox

The sunset sky today was breath-taking. It was a fiery red capped by cool purple. With colors so bright, it looked like war in the sky. The clouds did away with the subtle change of shades. Today, night and day met vividly at midpoint.

It was such a beautiful sky, it literally made me stop as I walked across the bridge. I felt lucky to have witnessed it, as though it were a miracle.

The image reminded me of the man-made sunsets in Eoin Colfer’s “Artemis Fowl” Each sunset is made prettier that the last, made from sulfur and other gases — as though counting off the few remaining days the world will see the sun set; as though celebrating man’s ability to create better sunsets, all because man has destroyed Earth’s capacity for natural wonders.

It won’t be the last vivid sunset. Yesterday, I saw a photo of a fiery sunset on Facebook, as if fires had broken lose in heaven. This wonder was made possible by man’s pollution. All of our trash and waste go up to the skies. And we stop and marvel at its beauty, as if our garbage is anything noble.

It’s scary, to be at this point in time where our mistakes create something beautiful. We can’t be allowed to believe that there is any hope of salvation on our wrongs.

Compete with Yourself

If there is ever one thing I am grateful for having internet for, it is that it has become a platform for amazing people to be heard, to rally supporters to their cause, and more importantly, for these selfless little people to come out of their invisibility to be recognized. They never asked to be thanked for the things that they do, so it is all the more wonderful that the internet allows us to do so.

At the same time, however, nothing has ever made me feel as insufficient as seeing a child prodigy speak 20 languages, young inventors create life-changing tools, a high school student make groundbreaking contributions to the field of medicine, and the same hundred other people that, just 20 seconds ago, I found amazing doing what they do best.

I look up to them, and I feel small.

Become a Dreamer

The human soul craves for nothing more than happiness. But this inherent human truth is so contrary to today’s upbringing. In our culture, security is the goal, predictability paved the road, and logic is the tool.

As a result, you’ve become a practical person. You choose activities you will definitely excel in. You shy away from anything that could possibly embarrass you or damage your superior reputation. You go to college and pick the major that will please your parents and make money. You follow rules. You dot your i’s and cross your t’s. You figured, your natural talents should lead you to your happiness. Right?

But it doesn’t. Somewhere along the way, you compromise. Then it becomes a habit to choose what is practical over what feels good.

Getting lost and searching for what you want to do with your life — that thought alone feels dirty, like sin, an indulgence. But you also know, that until you finally do it, every day will be a chore.

Your internal compass is going berserk. It will give you no choice but to throw your life upside down until you wake up to the truth that your comfort zone, while easy, is not your happiness.

And you deserve better. You deserve to be happy.

Dare to Be You

Dare to be you. Be courageously and imperfectly you.

Can you imagine being afraid to look in a mirror? Being afraid of finding yourself is like that. Every day, you check if you look decent before going out. How is looking inside yourself any different?

Out-of-it days are just pimples. That nasty habit? Huge pores that have no shame. Your past hurt is no different from a revealing scar. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like what you see. What’s important is that you see her. You acknowledge who she is. No matter where life takes you, you’ll recognize her. Her image is not diluted. It is clearly stamped in your mind and soul.

Burning Ice

Why do we insist on finding a love that’s easy? Clinging to the idea of destiny — of a love that is meant to be, that will come at the right time, that will put things perfectly in place — is a betrayal of our reality.

In a very small pocket, buried deep in my heart, there is a quiet whisper of hope for fairy tale endings and magic. This may just be my destruction.

Finding Forever

Do you believe in forever? She asked, and all I could do was stare at the wall. What a silly question it was! And yet, I knew it was more than me and more than her. Whatever words tied themselves together to answer that question would henceforth define us.

I don’t want to mess this up and my continued silence is already working against me. I know that only too well.

Monster-Proofing

“There’s a stranger on my bed,” my four-year-old daughter was telling me in the kitchen as I whipped up some pancake batter for breakfast. For a second, dread filled me. I was alarmed that somebody could have gotten into the house, threatening the life of my daughter and the security of our home. But only for a second. I had to mentally slap my palm to my forehead.

A smile split my face, “Where? Show Mommy.”