​Valley of Rainbows and Tears

We live in the valley of rainbows with smiling faces that shine through tears. Perhaps the balance between happiness and sadness is equal as the times push us gently or harshly towards oblivion or eternity. It seems that each of us has something within us that helps to keep us emotionally balanced and perhaps determines whether we are smiling or crying from moment to moment. When that "mechanism" disappears, we may enter into depression, a deep and dark tunnel. It could be the fear of the "unknown", of what awaits us, that undermines our lightness. It could be many things. What happens to people we know can be horrible, its agonies, injustices, and misfortunes, and we are reminded that it can happen to us, if it hasn't already. It could erupt as anxiety or panic attacks or insecurity. But what about all the beauty, the love, the care, the laughter, the companionship, the good times, the hopes, and the possibilities? Don't they keep us afloat? My mechanism is like a rubber ducky, it always pops backup.

Many of us walk this "lonely valley" surrounded by friends and loved ones, but how deep are these connections? Aren't they like the crust of the earth, somewhat deep, but not to the core? Next to us are those who walk it alone, isolated, without love, sometimes just walking with a limp. What about them? Aren't they part of us too? Can someone be completely happy while others around us are suffering? Should we toughen up to keep our balance in a world full of injustice and cruelty? It seems that the psyche of many is created and shaped quite unconsciously as an anecdote to this existential enigma that we all share. That our personalities could simply be a reaction to the reality we find ourselves in, an attempt to keep our balance in the valley of smiles and tears.