Sentinel

Sometimes, life catches you by surprise. It takes you and throws you to
the ground, and kicks you cold-heartedly until there is no air left in
your lungs. Things just keep getting worse and worse, and you think to
yourself, 'How can this be worth it?' But then, somewhere from the
blinding light above you, a hand, as soft as lamb's ear, reaches out to
you and pulls you back up. You look around, but the light is too bright,
like you've emerged from some sort of Platonean cave. The truth is
just too much for you to handle. But eventually, your eyes adjust, and
take in all that the light has to offer. You see the beauty, of life,
and of living. You see the small mushrooms blooming from below a pile of
decaying leaves, and salamanders, orange as the desert sun crawling
into the soft, wet shade. There are birds, flying high above the
mountain tops, colored white and pure. You find yourself staring at the
blank wasteland desert, and you stare off and watch the sun set in its
magnificent hues of orange and red, then watch it rise again over the
rice tiers in China. Everything covered in fine dew and you watch the
silhouettes of women in their large straw hats hunched over picking the
rice from the boggy stairs that line the hillside. The sun rises with
such a miraculous glory, painting the sky in pinks and purples, you
question your reality. You wonder to yourself, "Have I been living this
life all along? Or is this just a figment, is this a dreamscape?" But
you know the truth now. You've seen the truth. It's been there all
along, hiding in plain sight. Waiting silently along the sentinels of
the Earth, for some person who has been hurt just enough, to see them.
You feel blessed to have the knowledge of Life, of Being. Life itself
has become your reason for living. Your senses, now uninhibited, are
your moral compass. You see the world through a new light, as if you
have been awakened again. Rebirthed, like the Phoenix, now strong and
powerful, flying out from the ashes, burning brighter than ever. You
know the secret. It's something that gives you vigor for life that
nothing ever has. You are happier than you have ever been before. Life
is your secret.