Such a bittersweet way to be

"It's a bittersweet life,
And it's leaving me a-ok.
It's a bittersweet life,
I have loved and lost
My heart along the way." 

 How can anyone doubt the things they do not know?

I used to live like this, constantly running with no place to go; and always feeling like something, some unknown thing, was slipping through my hands. I've spent days that turned into years living in fear as I found only slight touches of security by clinging to things I had been told and not things that I knew, in both my head and my heart. The fast pace of society seems to be the culprit for so much stress today. It feeds us and brings us up on the ideals of fast living and big payouts. It's almost to the point where if your life isn't filled with flash and visible success then quite obviously the only thing to assume is that you have no success at all. A big house, fast cars and hot significant others are society's measure of comfort and value; though somehow I don't see the appeal.

This outward pleasing and outward search for self-worth is contagious and most of the population has already caught the bug. What's worse is it sneaks into and totally infects, then corrupts how we view and act within our relationships. I see that more and more the trend in relationships today, especially among the younger population (15-mid 20's) is basing our happiness on how happy we can make that other person. We forget that true happiness is centered in knowing our likes and dislikes, finding what motivates us and what makes us tick as individuals. We must, and I repeat MUST develop something that allows us to know that no matter who thinks what about us, that it doesn't at all dictate the truth about who we are and what we are worth. Society has almost completely distorted this view. Yes we see it from time to time; but in a world where we are told image is imperative what else can we think? I challenge you, my reader, to not fall victim to basing your worth on anything other than the values of your heart. Outward things can and will change. It's only a matter of time! 
 

In closing I want to tie all of this together. To start I spoke of the dangers and fears of reaching out and desperately placing hope in the unknown; I then began to speak of how society has almost pushed us to seek our worth by pleasing others. This is how they connect. The only thing any of us can know for sure is what we feel and what we think-not necessarily believe, but think. That is why we cannot go through life trying to please others. We will always be left with confusion and feel like were stumbling up a proverbially unending set of stairs in the dark; until bam, change occurs and we are left falling and let.....down. So I encourage you to let these things guide you but never make up your mind. Live selfless but do not live without self respect as your first priority. You can never help anyone if you will not or cannot help yourself. Be wise and then you can lead. The blind only lead the blind to greater disorientation and loss.