If life is so often about overcoming obstacles then the worst part is that at times the obstacles are either illusions or mirages. Like the shape shifters in fairy tales, sometimes we struggle to possess great beauty only to find it is an illusion concealing horror or a vacuum and the reverse is true as well

I have spent too much of my life battering myself against a stone wall and repeatedly walking away bloody and dazed with disbelief because I listened to the wall and the wall said, “I am kind, generous, wise and understanding. I believe in all that is good, gentle, beautiful and true. I am warm, nourishing, reassuring, strong and honest.” I could not fathom why while continually reassuring me of these noble values goin out of it’s way repeatedly to demonstrate that what it said was true, I should be left so consistently feeling battered, embattled, denied, belittled, judged, rejected, wounded and drained. Why should feel I had been run over by a tank that insisted it was a lamb?

That wall is crumbling now, I can see a little clearer now, a little farther now, and I can see there is another wall beyond. The best part though is that now that I see this second wall and know there are infinitely more walls beyond. I no longer need to take that route,. Beyond them are only more illusions , delusions disappointments and pain.

Life hands us all a collection of tools, references, bonus points, hoaxes and inherent strengths. My stories are really not about anything different than the obstacles any others encounter, but some superficial aspects may be colorful, and I hope, entertaining and informative.