Innocence

When we were children, we believed in many things, most of which were impossible. Things like the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus. Our lives were filled with magical awe as the world brought new experiences to us. We had our parents to protect us, or at least those of us who were fortunate enough to have them, anyway.

As we grew up, we started to see the world as it really was. The Tooth Fairy didn't exist nor did Santa; our parents were the ones who did all those wonderful things. Then we started understanding finances and for most of us, it amounted to the need for money to keep things going. We moved away from our parents, went to university, graduated, found a job, got married, had kids...the list goes on and on.

Suddenly, we were the parents, tiptoeing into our children's room late at night to swap that tooth under the pillow with a coin. Or waiting until late at night for the kids to fall asleep so that we can fill their stockings. We had to protect them, feed them, clothe them, teach them and most of all, love them.

Parenthood brings the magic of children into one's life at the cost of stripping away that final self-delusion that the world is safe. Yes, that's a pretty negative thing to say but I do believe that it's true for most people.

When we were kids, we had someone to protect us. That left us free to be innocent and happy. Life changes all that. I'm middle-aged right now and I'm desperately clinging on to the few scraps of innocence left. Things like love, romance, fairness and the intrinsic good in people. I think in this regard, women have an edge over men. Society allows us to be soft-hearted and romantic, little foibles that don't necessarily fit into the cold hard reality of life.

I believe in love, that people can fall in love, that love can be forever and true, that love is stronger than anything in the world.

I believe that romance isn't dead, that a couple can maintain that spark of love throughout their lives by working at it.

I believe that fairness will prevail, that people will get what they deserve, be it good or bad as a consequence for their decisions.

I believe that people are intrinsically good at heart and will choose to do good things unless if life has taught them to be hard and cruel.

I know that clinging on to these beliefs have a cost, that people unscrupulous enough could take advantage of these values. I'll risk it. I'll risk it because we need to believe in something improbably positive in our lives. Otherwise, life just becomes the daily grind...and you die in spirit long before you die in body.