Dost Thou Love Life?

Dost Thou Love Life?

Dost Thou Love Life?

I sit on the green hill, the grass tickling the back of my knees. To my right my grandparent%u2019s cottage and I can hear the laughter of my family coming out of the open window. To my left is my grandmother%u2019s garden littered with flowers of every imaginable color. Behind me is an old gravel road rarely traveled and there isn%u2019t a motor running for miles. In front of me is Lake Michigan, vast and beautiful. Life is full of wonderment and even in the darkest hour there%u2019s a reason to keep going.
As the wind starts to blow I stand up and let it whip my hair in all directions, I lick my lips tasting the sweetness that it brings with it, I let it whistle past my ears. I close my eyes and breathe in the mysterious scent of the Great Lake and let the wind envelop me in a blanket of freedom. This is why I live.
I shuffle lazily over to the computer, sit down, and pick up an abandon sheet of paper out of the printer. It belongs to one of my sisters and is about her personal hero. %u201CThey are important in an everyday life. They are someone you look up to for advice and counsel%u2026 Mine is my brother, Jay.%u201D As I continue to read about how she looks up to me and what qualities I possess that she admires, tears of pride well up unbidden into my mind as I come to terms with how much influence I have and impact I make on my baby sister. This is why I live.
I slouch in the front seat as the bus slows to a stop, the scenery slowly become crystal clear. The kids pile out and one of them stops by the seat across from me. He helps the Down syndrome boy off the bus and to his nearby, patiently waiting mother. I watch as they walk across the grass and various kids come up and talk to him with smiles and laughter as other kids scream their farewells and wave their hands vigorously in departure. This is why I live.
I cruise down the highway, windows down, letting the wind turn my hair into its own personified biological horror. I have the radio turned up so the guy next to me knows what song I am belting out at the top of my lungs. My head is making a small bobbing motion as I make my pitiful attempt at dancing while driving, not that it would matter that much since my dancing is rather pitiful anyways. This is why I live.
I jump off the giant rock and smile at the chirping birds. The smell of the pine trees and the nearby lake fill me with tranquility. The sun is high and I brush my hand against one of the trees pricking my fingers and covering it in sap. A squirrel scurries away, nut in its mouth, when it sees me. This is why I live.
I hear a great roaring sound that should fill me with fear, but excitement is in the place dread. As I come around the last bend of the past I get a full face of misty spray and the sound of the waterfall crashing into the water in front of me hits me full blast. I stare up at the top and marvel at the beautiful size of it all. This is why I live.
I am strolling to the breezeway and one of my friends turns around and says a greeting. She double takes and asks why I am so cheerful all of a sudden. I smile bigger and explain to her - as I realize myself - that it%u2019s because I am going to meet my girlfriend. I grin even wider as she rushes out of the crowded hallway and into the sunshine. She gives me a huge embrace and whispers in my ear %u201CI missed you,%u201D and we turn around, hand in hand, and walk to class. This is why I live.
I decide to escort my sisters to a nearby park for an afternoon of enjoyable physical activity. As I crest the hill I see and old couple sitting on a bench, holding hands and watching the clouds pass by. I smile in spite of myself and think how amazing the power of love is and how it can withstand any test or trial. I can%u2019t help but want to get married and slowly grow old together. This is why I live.
I look at the clock after a long day at my best friend%u2019s house and realize it is almost eight thirty and I need to get home. As I walk I realize that the night is fairly bright. I can%u2019t help but pause and look up to see thousands of stars twinkling like glitter in the night sky. The full moon the giant beacon protecting and watching over them like a mother. I feel enlivened and uplifted and finish my journey home. This is why I live.
As the day nears its end, I meander out to my back porch, rest my elbows in the deck, let my head ease comfortably into my hands, and watch as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon. The sky changes from blue to different hues of yellow, orange, red, purple, and eventually darkens into black. I wonder at the beauty of the natural world and come to the conclusion that even though terrible things happen, a world so beautiful can%u2019t be bad. This is why I live.
There are so many reasons why I live. To list them all would prove a pointless anathema. I could continue on into eternity and still become a failure in my task so I will just leave with a final thought. To live is to love and to love is to live. Don%u2019t close your heart off to others; don%u2019t become cold, lifeless, and uncompassionate. Take the time to enjoy everyday, live every moment. Stop to smell the roses and don%u2019t let yourself get too busy to enjoy the small things because that is what makes Life the amazing thing that it is.