Life’s Cruel Compass

In Pursuit of the Divine: A Reflection on Love and Life

Life is often cruel.
The human heart a funny thing
Unbounded it can grow without limit
We can fill the hearts of others with hope and joy
But in the blink of an eye, it can turn into an empty nest.

Someone asked me recently what I wanted from life.
A simple answer, I could not express.
I yearn to mirror my forefathers steps, yet,
Fear whispers, “it is to late for that”.
I want to be great… failed again.
Life seems to continually knock me down in one way or another.
But then again perhaps it is me,
perhaps I am knocking myself down to my knees.
One thing is proven, my ideas are sound,
But their fruition, it seems, is rarely found.
If this holds true, then why aren’t they renowned?
Why do I dwell in this endless pit, bound?

Which Star should I chase?
Do I set myself free and run away?
Live a life of excess and destruction?
That life calls to us all and often.
Do I feed off the fruits of others?
Play my charms and sell myself for gain…?
It seems this life quickly depletes our resources…
Do I stand and fight?
Fighting wears you away just as quickly…
Tired of this daily grind, yet driven still for heart fulfilled.
Why is life so cruel?

Why, with love’s fulfillment, does contentment still hide?
Can wholeness be found when love alone resides inside?
How can one feel satisfied when love is all they have to offer?
Is love’s power solely enough?
So it is said, yet life is tough.

Worldly demands, too often chime a different tune.
Love, A’more, the feeling so grand!
One might think love makes our life’s path easier
It does, alas for the world’s distractions
Magnifying our flaws to us, revealing them in the day.

Self-loathing is a horrid price to pay for love
but that is the price when love alone is not enough.
Tender moments sustain us yet the world’s demands gnaw away
Not good enough, not today, desperation sets in
We struggle like rats on a sinking ship to find a way
A way to provide and nurture those we love.
To shield, protect our love precious home from the harsh demands of life,
To bask in love’s harvest, amid the strife, is that the trick?!
Alas this is a fruitless gain without the world’s accord…
Or is it?
God has lent his hand to our love
How else could our hearts burst with joy, with ecstasy yet remain alive?
Then would not He provide the rest?
Would it be just to dangle such fruit briefly tasted?
To steal love from our hearts, engorged with mythical lore,
To render it more hollow than ever before?

No, God does provide, but in ways we do not always see.
In ways we do not always expect
In ways we rarely respect
Oh love’s lessons why must you be so complicated?

Why must that which is so joyous
be mired in such complexity?
Yet, love remains an enigma, a mystery worth deciphering.
Just like a phoenix rises from the ashes, love renews and rejuvenates.
Life might seem relentless, cruel, endlessly complex,
Yet, love remains a soothing balm, a salve for the weary soul.

The divine hand has indeed touched our love, making it precious, making it priceless.
Can it then be too far-fetched to believe that He will guide us through the mazes of life?
For, isn’t the fruit of love also a taste of divine providence?
A subtle reminder of His ways, a gentle nudge towards faith and surrender?

Perhaps the challenge lies not in the worldly demands,
But in our own inability to perceive the divine interventions.
Each setback, a lesson; each failure, a step towards growth;
Each knock-down, an opportunity to rise stronger, wiser.

Perhaps the love we bear is not insufficient, but rather unrefined.
As a gem requires a craftsman’s touch to reveal its true brilliance,
Our love too needs to be shaped by trials, polished by challenges.
Only then can it mirror the divine love that has been bestowed upon us.

Yes, self-loathing is a heavy price to pay,
But perhaps it is merely the shadow cast by the bright light of self-realization.
A reminder that we are capable of more, that we are worthy of more.
A constant echo of our potential, our strength, our capacity for boundless love.

Life may be cruel, unyielding, demanding.
Love may seem a confusing maze, a complex riddle.
Yet, as long as the human heart beats, it seeks, it learns, it evolves.
In this cruel world, love is our compass, our map, our journey, and our destination.

— Author: Sensei Mitch

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