A Poem for the Enlightened

A couple of weeks ago, these beautiful words arrived on my doorstep. At the time, I wasn't ready to hear them and didn't want to confront the loaded meanings behind each emotion.

I'm still not quite sure what to make of it all, but I do know that when something stirs you, it is meant to be shared. And I want to thank the person who shared this with me & for all of the memories behind your wonderfully crafted words.

What does it mean to be human? Is it our capacity for thought? Or our ability to transmit our wisdom to future generations?

Surely these are parts of it, but there is so much more to man than the mind. 

There is always the heart and soul, and it is from these that feelings derive. Feelings of love, hurt, happiness and courage. Indeed it is through these emotions that we become human.

Love. The most beautiful of emotions. Love is the feeling one gets when they look into another and their heart jumps; the rush of energy from ones' soul to another as their lips touch; the feeling of safety one finds in their lover.

But it is much more than just a relationship with another.

Love is the witnessing of the beauty that surrounds us every day, through good and bad, found in oneself and all the places one can imagine. For if one fails to recognize this, one truly forgets what it is to love.

But love is also about hurt. The hurt that comes from realizing mistakes, taking the beauties of life for granted and feeling as if a hole has been torn right through the self. This pain we all surely know and it is the worst pain one can endure. But it is also part of what makes us human--pushing us to learn, cope and most importantly, feel. It is out of this pain that one learns about themselves: who they've been, who they want to be, and who they want to be with. And it is through this pain that one again finds happiness.


Happiness is the feeling one gets when they allow themselves to truly love and hurt. Happiness is the appreciation one feels for all that has happened, through happy and sad, and is brave enough to even thank the hurt. True happiness is when someone becomes so comfortable with their self that they can share their happiness with another, never losing themselves in the process. Happiness is the courage to do what needs to be done to awake the love and hurt in another, knowing it will not be easy.

Courage is both the least and most important of emotions. For one must be courageous enough to fight the good fight but also to know when to let the fight go. One must be courageous enough to look back on the past and smile, no matter how bad it hurts.

Courage is the understanding that life goes on.

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