ON THE EDGE

My vision of life is not haunted with pleasant platitudes or crystal clear ideologies. As a family therapist, maybe I've seen too much, read too much. Maybe I've listened to too may stories of betrayal, violence, sexual misconduct. Even murder. You're innocence leaves and your are stuck with reality. Democracy is not pure; religions will not necessarily make you a better person; convictions come and go; governments will not protect you from the Wolf; promises of a better tomorrow are not worth much today. You get lied to, deceived. People take your money and give you a bill of goods as long as your arm. They tell you that you won't amount to a hill of beans; that you are from the wrong side of the tracks. You're the wrong color, the wrong sex, your arm is withered, your eyes can't see; that your job is low prestige or not at all. You might see things that others don't; you can't get out of your chair without a walker; you hear things that others can't hear. You're dirt poor, living in a car, begging food at the local mission; ashamed to go to the emergency room again. Life is not crystal clear or clean. You get your hands dirty. No amount of sanitizer will wipe away the truth.