Personal Blogs

Brothers, sisters, family and friends; all merged as one, a wave among waves. If you were lucky you could see fish fly past you like shooting stars; it was the entertainment we longed for until our time came. But Momma's time came first. The great fireball in the sky was even greater that day, when Momma went to the surface to see if the rumours of dolphins were true. 

She never came back; I saw the mist rise and wished I had the wings of the gulls, to ride the wind and follow her to the clouds.

I spent every day waiting for the rainbow. Poppa once said that if his time came, just follow the rainbow. Many winters came and went; no rainbows, no Poppa. Then Momma was gone, and I found myself looking for a double.

I always thought that when it was my turn to go to the candyfloss mist, it would be magical, spectacular, breathtaking. But it happened on a day like any other; the only difference being that I wanted to go. I had to find them, and I wasn't going to find them here by watching the fish. So I stayed at the surface when the great fireball was at its highest in the sky. I found myself feeling lighter and I started to rise.

The view really was spectacular; waves crashed into waves, dolphins danced on the surface of the sea, and I thought of Momma, whether or not she ever got to see them. I could see mountains in the distance, a stream that trailed down it to the edge of the blue that I call home. There was so much to see; the higher I rose, the more I learned, and the more I understood. 

I stayed in the candyfloss mist so long I lost count of the days that had past. The only thing that gave me hope were the stories told by others that had risen; fulfilling their purpose, where they came from and who they hoped to find again.

We floated in the sky like gods, wondering where our journey would take us next.

The sky grew dark, and a rumble could be heard in the distance. A storm. Louder. Closer; until it consumed me and pulled the entire cloud into its clutches. The sound was deafening; lost in the storm, tossed this way and that, I was hopeless. I closed my eyes, thought of my family and the unlikely chance of ever seeing them again. 

But it was enough; in my mind they held me tight, they helped through the storm.  

I started to feel heavy again; gravity pulling me home. I opened my eyes. Sunlight blinded me as I fell, a single drop of rain amongst millions. Stunned by the moment, I observed my surroundings; rainfall, a mountain, a stream, a rainbow. 

I was free falling, yet time stood still. Please let me land in the stream. Please. I closed my eyes once more and imagined the fish flying by like shooting stars.

Splash. 

It all happened so quickly; from floating to free-falling to being swept away by the current of the stream. What a story this would make. The current threw me as violently as the storm, but at least this time I knew where I was headed.

Back in the sea. 

Did that really just happen? Have I completed my journey? 

"You're home, my darling" It can't be - The warmth of a hug overwhelms me.

"MOMMA! POPPA! I took the journey, did you see? How did you find me?"

"It was the most beautiful thing we ever saw, apart from you. We always knew you would be the one to make the rainbow."

***

A single droplet of water. A story to tell the ocean.

The great ball of fire sets on the horizon; the water tranquil and blue. Fish dart in and out of the waves like shooting stars, while dolphins dance on it's surface. All in preparation for the rising sun, where more will be chosen to travel the journey.

No disease. No sadness. No crying yourself to sleep at night. No jealousy. No violence; no war. A summer that is never too hot, a winter never too cold. No hunger. No racism. No prejudice. Just people. People that fill every day with smiles, kindness and laughter. No animals in cages. No hierarchy of power. No working to live, living to work; just living. Countries that mingle like good neighbours, races that merge as friends. No borders, no passports, no need for one. 

Just one earth; inhabited, cared for and free.

Utopia.  

What a wonderful, beautiful, happy world that would be. But it never will be, will it?  In this world that flies flags of power, shame and injustice, people's visions of the perfect world collide like asteroids; stripping away the decency of humanity. Earth is bittersweet; it's natural beauty tainted by the shadows that men cast upon it. 

But if we look closely, very closely, into the cracks, there is still beauty to be found. 

In the eyes of someone who loves you. In a baby's first smile. In the laughs that make you feel like you've done 100 sit-ups. In the tree's that rise from the ground; unrestrained and proud. Birds flying from one to the next, perched like kings; observing the world but not ruled by it. In the warmth of the sun on your face, and in the perfect symmetry of a snowflake. In the peace of silence, and in the music that narrates our lives.

Society may have us in 4-walled cages, but if you look to the sky you will see no bars.

We may not be able to save everyone. But there is beauty in the colourful memories they leave in the hearts of many; a bittersweet departing gift, never wanting to be received but treasured like diamonds. We may not live in a world where equality reigns, but there is beauty in the bravery to hold your head high and be you. 

We spend our lives in black and white, searching for the colour to fill it. But the colour is all around you; vivid, blinding and beautiful.

We may not have the utopia we dream of, but in the small things, stacked high like skyscrapers, we create our own. Sometimes the world will send it falling to the ground.

But there is beauty in our power to rebuild it.