Our world is filled with baubles and flashing lights that are beautiful to see and entertaining to the mind. If we are off guard, they are very much like that gingerbread house sprawling inappropriately in the woods. Like Hansel and Gretel we are lost and hungry. We are hungry for acceptance so we eat it, thinking it must be the right thing to do. As a result, we are often welcomed in by a wicked witch who wants to eat us for lunch.
We live in a time where dreaming is said to be unreality. Amid the noise and clatter of -- buy my goods so you will be okayness --, we are often unable to hear the soft voice of true reason. We are told to be reasonable by those who want to be surrounded by clones of themselves, or better yet, servants to further their own agendas.
When we listen to our hearts, we join in the drumbeat of reality. Reality is, pretty flashy things come and go. Jobs come and go. Money goes faster than it comes. All these things leave us empty in our darkest moments because they have no true light or value. They carry no substantial weight in the soul of a human that would keep us from rushing downstream in the flood.
Somehow, we have to learn to reach for the remote and turn off the television. We have to learn to resist the flashing banner ads and find the time to sit quietly and listen to what our hearts tell us. We have to find the courage to be honest with ourselves. If we only travel the freeways laid out for us by others, we miss the scenery for the billboards.