Monday, September 30, 2013

Open Letter Challenge

As I have mentioned, one of the ways I cope with being sick every day is to look for things I can do rather than focus on what I can't. Writing is one of these things for me.  So for this reason, I am participating in Josh Irby's Open Letter Challenge.  The following letter is my response to An Open Letter to You from the Rest of the World.



Hello World!

Thanks for the letter. It was nice to hear from you and know you are still thinking of me. I think of you often.

So, you are wondering what my role will be, and how I am going to make my piece fit snugly into the empty hole of our global puzzle?  That’s a fair question; I am wondering the same thing myself.

You know I have always been a dreamer: chasing goals and waiting for the greatness that was most assuredly lurking around the corner.  I ignored the cynics who said I was naïve or gullible and who said eventually your harsh, cold-hearted reality would take a scalpel to my idealism.

Somehow, slowly, yet before I had the chance to blink and recognize what was happening, you were leaving me with open wounds and scars.  Were the so-called cynics right? Were they actually cynics as I had hastily judged them to be, or were they merely realists trying to warn me?  After all, I had now witnessed and experienced first-hand the death, destruction, illness and hopelessness you seemed to manufacture.

But, no, after careful contemplation, I have concluded they were cynics.  Each life, each human experience is a carefully constructed conglomeration of successes and failures, battles and victories.  It has to be.  Without the paradoxes of life, beauty, compassion and everyday miracles can’t be realized.  These things, however, are the true realities of you, World; the authentic effects you are offering us with a strained, outstretched arm, waiting for us to make the next move.

There are still a few shadows clouding my vision, and I can’t see far enough ahead to tell you where my path is headed.  My eyes are opened wide, and my ears are listening intently, so I don’t miss where I am being called to lead or follow.

While I can’t offer you a resolute answer as to what my ultimate role will be, I can offer you this:  I promise to never stop searching and to not allow the obstacles to derail my journey.  My eyes will remain fixed on hope, and I will keep the faith.  Most importantly, I offer you my love: my love of self, my love of others and my love of God. I will encourage rather than compete. I will lift up rather than tear down. I will magnify the good rather than embellish the darkness.

I hope you will cherish these gifts I whole-heartedly give and will find them enough for now.

With Love and Gratitude,

Amy

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