Neverside

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Of all the pieces I have created to date, this one is the closest to my heart because of its concept. I actually began working on Let Live in November of last year, and finished it in December, if memory serves me. It was a busy time of my life, so creative work was slow going. I have waited so long to post this, though, because I wasn't read to let it go, to put it on the table for the world to criticize and curse me or love me for it. Sometimes you can create something so close to your beliefs that it is frightening to display it to the world, for fear you will give up too much of who you are in the process.

Let Live is about familial love and legacy and the importance therein, and, less obviously, about how modern society has forgotten its importance. When I look at the majority of people living in this world, I see individuals slaving for money and the materials they can purchase with it. I see people living for careers, only to have them not pan out as younger employees take their places right before their retirement. There are the divorces, the unwanted children--abuse, as there ever has been in the world.

As humans, is this really the legacy we want to leave in our wake? A self-loving, greedy and aggressive legacy, where nothing is satisfying? Where we never find contentment, because contentment is always just a step up from what we have? We cannot just be positive and satisfied, we think. We must, we say, be manically happy. Always, all day. And if we aren't, something's wrong, and we must change something--our jobs, our friendships, our loves. Like worker ants, we strive for ever-unattainable "happiness" and leave that nature in our wake. We rarely see the worth of that which is before us. We teach this to our generations, and the cycle begins again.

Money's value (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation) is fleeting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_market_crash), and materials are washed away (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane) so easily or ripped (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake) from our greedy hold. That career that defines your existence? It ends one day, when your knowledge is obsolete and your pay is too high for your employer's liking. Your legacy is in who you've loved and influenced, in the people you've made and broken, for better or worse.

Sometimes we need to go outside in the night, where there are no lights, and see a wide open sky of black, the faded stars above, the trees or buildings around us. Remember you're small, insignificant in the grand scheme of creation--and yet, wonderfully unique, hugely important at the same time. Your existence changes the lives of thousands, likely more, whether you will ever realize it. Sometimes existence is enough.

Don't forsake or forget what you have. Enjoy the simple things in life, especially your intricate relationships, because they are what matters, what lasts if you work at it. Keep them, cherish them. Make them grow like the deep-rooted oak. You'll need them when times are hard, when your days are numbered, when there are smiles and tears.

Let Live. Love life. Open your eyes to what matters. It's us, simply, our lives, from the womb unto the grave.

-----
Lelia Katherine Thomas
http://www.leliathomas.com
http://feeds.feedburner.com/leliathomas

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