Story

Oh Little One
By Michael Cortson
Having had the misfortune or fortune, depending on your point of view, of surviving a collision with most certain death, my observations of even the most basic of good and evil, right and wrong, and all of the core values upon which we all place our foundational beliefs were, to say the very least, violently shaken to rubble only to be rebuilt to a new and enlightened view. When I look back to a time when I was little and the world was filled with every possibility, dream and fantasy one could imagine, I see clearly now just how, at a glacier’s pace, my life evolved into a morass of confusion, fear and pain. Not that I was ever mindful that these most unwanted aspects were to be afoot, but how these virtues of success, safety and security were never more than a belief and illusion in the first place. That is to say that all the while that I studied and worked tirelessly to build a life, wealth and a family somewhere along the way that little person who I had been became lost and forgotten and thrown into the dust bin mostly likely never to be seen again. Perhaps it was the adult thing to do. I was to put aside childish thoughts and virtues and become a man taking the world head on without regard for anything more than my success, wealth and family. So there I was battering away day after day, month by month, year after year climbing some imaginary mountain to nowhere which at its peak there was to be some glorious reward.
Well, this journey came to an abrupt halt and I landed smack in the middle of the absolute end of it all staring helplessly at a ceiling which was to be my final view of all this. Frightening, wouldn’t you say, but of course. The end of it all is not something we wish to ponder at any length and that is due to our absolute fear of all fears, certain death and the unknown of it all. I look back now, having lost all that what was once so dear to me that I would tear the eyes from someone’s skull should they threaten my success, wealth and especially family. After all, I had devoted a lifetime to building these things and woe is to the one who dared threaten any of it!
So the little boy, that fragile harmless lad, scampering about the yard, dreaming dreams of becoming the world’s greatest baseball player, squeezing the joy out of every precious minute of daylight he could get, I would tell him now; you never left. You have been here all the time. You are the one that this living is about. To live and live as large as your imagination will take you! To be happy and laugh until your sides ache. To cry as if it were your last moment. To love as heartfelt for all, as you love the new puppy, your catcher’s mitt, and the promise of the new sunrise. Never lose yourself, little one. Live proudly in joy and happiness throughout your life. Bring a smile where there is sadness. Bring hope where there is despair. Let your innocence and love for all things be a light, a beacon to all who seek the same. Now I hear my mother’s voice asking me again, “Whudja learn?” And I can say without a doubt, “I was at the top of the mountain all along! Welcome back, oh little one.”