Thursday, January 27, 2011

There are times when the harshness of life tests the limits of individuals. When one, just embarking on their young adult years, is dealt the devastating news that they are going to die. And that death won’t be swift, or kind or show mercy, instead brining them to their knees with a sadistic cruelty. Or of an individual who finds himself or herself entangled in a web of unimaginable horrors as they unwittingly take the life of their best friend in a catastrophic accident.

When life throws such horrific and seemingly senseless curveballs, how are folks expected to carry on? To get up and dust themselves off, knowing that their future will bring with it pain and suffering at monumental levels? Some expect these individuals to cut away the extraneous in their lives when that may be the very thing that distracts their tortured mind enough to provide a momentary reprieve. Should folks who are being so tested extricate themselves from the superfluous? Or should they appreciate the extras for what they are—a glimpse of simpler less stressful times and an opportunity to escape?

I believe that it is the “fluff” surrounding us that can and does act as our safety nets. When life brings us to our knees, it’s those extras that can help foster within us the desire to carry on. Whether the fluff is comprised of luxuries, simple indulgences or the warm embrace of treasured ones, fluff serves a purpose. Standing just offstage and waiting for its curtain call, fluff holds us up when we’re too weak or broken to do so on our own.

As the promise of warmer temperatures and a new season peak onto the horizon, causing some to feel the itch to rid themselves of excess…whatever, be mindful of what you shed, for it might be that the very things you rid yourself of could be the ones to inspire you to carry on should your life take a sudden turn for the worse.