When Innocence is Lost

When did you lose your innocence? Was it because you were a certain age, or was it a situation that caused it? Had you a clue to what was real or was the fantasy woven around you so ingrained that you did not know the reality would be so different?

You can ask those questions and answer them for any number of scenarios: the loss of your virginity: the realization that Santa/Tooth Fairy/etc are not real beings: the comprehension that being an adult is not as much fun when you are living it as you thought as a kid: the recognition that your heroes are human and therefore fallible. All of these things and so much more affect us whether we want them to or not. How we handle it on the other hand.

For quite a while now I've been observing a number of things going on in the world, in our country, in my neighborhood and on the internet. Look around you. How many times do you come across an article, newscast or situation where you are dumbfounded and cannot help but shake your head? Some might say that it is the way of the world, get used to it. Others could assert that the times are causing the decay. Any way you look at it, the age of naivet and gullibility is passing at a rapid rate.

Some days it would be nice to bury my head in the sand and pretend all the problems, hassles and issues surrounding us every day did not exist. To have a few hours respite from it all would be heaven. Unfortunately though, I am not a child any longer. My innocence in a number of areas is long gone. Responsibility and recognition has come in its place.

I'm not sure we are ever too old to lose a part of our wide-eyed selves that we keep close to our hearts though. There are some things we have to hold onto in order not to become total and complete cynics. While the world is not made up of rainbows and sunshine, it is still nice to think there is still goodness to be found.

So today I will hold onto the bits I have left. Hopefully I won't lose much more. Sometimes we are better off not knowing. Today instead of innocence lost, I want to say it's a day of innocence kept.