INNOCENCE....Another Word For Freedom

A series of essays.....

~~~LYDIA~~~

 














.....as seen through my eyes!



INNOCENCE.....

is simply another word for freedom. Free of guilt, sin, moral wrong, with the lack of knowledge of evil or wrong doing. Generally associated with the very young and the naive, we visualize youth as not having been tainted by the negativity of life itself and walk the earth within a shell of purity and bliss. My aching heart cries for the loss of childhood innocence in so many places around the world: Syria, Africa, India.....the mighty United States of America. 

Tears roll down my face and I ache for this blatant, selfish, unnecessary theft of pure innocence and freedom. I am ashamed of mankind. We have failed to evolve. We have ignored our gift of intelligence and placed greed upon the altar to be idolized, worshipped, and adored. We have put our children's lives at risk. And, the most grievous part is that many of us will not admit to it. A blanket of ignorance will never be good enough to cover-up for the lack of simple common sense.

There is a freshness that surrounds the truly innocent. Like a cool mountain breeze that gently skims across our skin or the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread cooling on the countertop as your Mother hums a simple tune in the kitchen, innocence is captured. With this freshness comes possibilities. With this innocence, dare we dream of hope?

"Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others," wrote La Rochefoucauld, a French writer and moralist, in the late seventeenth century. Most of us continue to conduct our lives believing in the good of mankind, discounting the rumors of guilt-laden souls filled with cunning, guile and senseless hate for other human beings. Most of us are incapable of 'great crimes.' We, too, are the Innocents. We often hear the phrase that 'no one is perfect' and understand it epitomizes the essential characteristics of people we love and admire the most; people with kindness in their hearts, but never claim the essence of perfection within their own lives. They learn and grow because of their mistakes. They love life and fill the lives of others with joy. "If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others." ...Rochefoucauld wrote.

"Is Man kind? Are we good? Look through their windows so that you can understand their views. Set at their tables so you can share their tastes. Sleep in their beds so that you may know their dreams. Find out just how kind the he's and she's of this mankind are." .....Courtesy of airbnb. Let us travel this breathtaking world and introduce ourselves to its he's and she's and share and compare our knowledge with one another to help preserve our Earth and keep Her safe.

BREAKING NEWS:

Even the Innocents are questioning the souls of others today! As I write this essay, I am being alerted about two innocent lives that have been taken from us in Moneta, Virginia this morning. Two victims of senseless violence. BREAKING NEWS: Reporter, Photographer Shot & Killed On Air In Virginia..... What can I write or say right now? What could possibly make any sense from this heinous act of violence against two innocent beings delivered by another? May God bless and keep you, Alison Parker, twenty-four years young, and Adam Ward, twenty-seven years young.

My heart is crying.

It's funny to me that all of the pounding negativism I was feeling thirty minutes ago as I was beginning my story has not been ramped-up by this 'act of hate' against Alison and Adam. Extreme acts of sadness affect each of us differently and I am a bit bewildered by my own emotions at this moment. I am calm, focused and tied to the earth.....as if my body has become one with nature and my soul is at peace with the world. Crazy.....given the circumstances. It's as though my life is honoring the two lives that have been taken from us and for now, I am one with their spirits as they leave this world and go on to the next.

What a truly engaging experience for me.

I am sure there will be time for numbness, contemplation of reality and questioning of motives in this case.  The understanding of it will take so much longer, if ever, I fear.

Thinking back to the young innocents who began my story today, I believe that their freedom from guilt, sin and moral wrong has a timeline that continues to dwindle with each school shooting, theater massacre, and 'attention based' killing that takes place. Circumstances that are certainly not beyond our control are shortening their freedom and elongating their fears at such extremely young, vulnerable ages. As adults, it is our responsibility to protect them and allow them to be carefree longer. I understand that we can't hide them in their rooms until they're thirteen. But, we can assist in regulating the weapons used in these crimes, as well as help educate others as to how and why these weapons must be properly controlled.

I offer you a few excerpts from a book entitled 'Abstract Poetry 4Life' by Deneene A. Collins that stretches the imagination and challenges our protective abilities when it comes to our children; our lives: "If I were a bee I would sting to protect everything important to me including my sweet, thick honey..... Though a sting may hurt you temporarily, it kills the very bee that makes the choice to sting you permanently. So never think that it is something a bee wants to do but realize it is only what they feel they have to do. Humans sting each other all the time with hurtful words, foul actions, and vicious lies. If your sting would take your life wouldn't you think twice before imposing ill actions on another?"

Most importantly, we must teach our children how to love.....  Learning to love one another, in the basic sense of respect and kindness, should be the number one priority of each of us, ranging from birth to the day we finally leave our earthly home. I may sound like a broken record when it comes to this mind-set, however, I ask you, if the repetition of something so basic and simple can help to reinforce and support the freedom we all deserve, would you be tired of hearing about it? Love is the key to opening all doors. Allow it to open your heart.

In Loving Memory of Alison and Adam.



Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
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