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Unclenched

R0013603a (Medium)(These are the flowers falling from the cotton trees.  The telltale signs of Spring they are, as well as remarks of the passage of a year. I watched them and became a bit philosophical. I took the photo and thought that I must write something with it)

Failures. We see failures as regrets in our life. Sometimes in failure we clench ourselves just a little bit too tight, and our sensibility is dampened.

Failures could smite us in all forms -- a relationship screwed up, a marriage lying in pain, a low-grade job, a delinquent son, a physically challenged daughter, marginal existence, illness, bereavement. We dread failures. We dodge failures. We cruse failures and crave for happiness.

And when everything can be done has been done to work around failures and, ironically, fail, we think we are left to the mercy of fate. Then we not only clench ourselves tight but also shut ourselves in. We may gradually sever most contacts with the world around us. We may spin mad on our bed at night when nighttime sounds echo in the silence of our smitten soul.

There is no happiness but hardship, no friends but fiends.

But have we closed our eyes and imagined what can be ahead of us. Imagine that we will have a lifetime of happiness: Can we bear it? Nope. No single man alive can bear it; it will be hell on earth. We will never find contentment. Or imagine that we will brace ourselves in solitude forever: What happiness can we find in solitude?

Failures have nothing personal to do with us. Paradoxically enough, we tend to indulge ourselves in failures. And in failure, we are cautious to love. It is exactly our caution in love that kills happiness. So, the vicious cycle sets in.

Failure is a part of our lives. Actually, failure is a part of the human history. When we are met with failures, treat them as uninvited guests. Wait and they will leave. Don't exhaust your love by indulging in cursing them. Accept love shown by people caring for you.

We can all do this. Simply open the window of our hearts and the door to our souls: unclench ourselves.

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