Naive: having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous. (Source: WWW.dictionary.reference.com)
Innocence: lack of knowledge or understanding. (Source: WWW.dictionary.reference.com)
My pup, Pebbles, is where my thoughts turn to when I try to compare something physical to the term. She was born the runt ugly duckling; she was the last left in the "For Sale" box; yet, she has never known the difference. When you look at her horrifyingly charming face, you become overwhelmed with pity for this defective creature. Considered "societies child" by human nature, she flogs our emotions with stereotypical thoughts. "Oh, the poor thing." "Bless it's heart." "I wonder how that happened."
A mother's love can overcome any label society can stick to us. When I passed that box that put a price on pity, I bent a little. My shell displayed a fresh new crack. She was the poster pup for naive innocence. She had love written on her simple face. People walked by mocking her dim-witted face. Children said icky things and made icky faces. She didn't know the difference; maybe she didn't care.
I loved her. She advertised this side of me that I was too cheap to boast about.
However, being as delightful as she, can be as much a disservice as it can be commendation. She doesn't know any better. She tends to attract the most disgusting friendships in the neighbor hood. One, in particular, is this massive repulsing black dog. Being a good three times the size of Pebbles, this bolder of a dog looks outrageously revolting just being next to one her size. This creature, that has knobby stilts for support, seems to show up no matter our preventive maintenance. It's thick, diseased matted neck rotates in slow motion.
Pebbles glances at this abnormal varmint just as she would the prize winning shih tzu. Whether she is stubborn in the "don't judge a book by it's cover" philosophy, or too ignorant to see the end, she somehow professionally seeks to approve this red flag creature. This is the deadly love spell that she cannot shake off.
We could rationalize her decisions all day saying that she is trying to make up for the rejection she felt in her younger days. However, in the end...this seemingly insignificant cataclysmic event could lead to her death.
The most terrorizing thing about the world in this era is the outward disguise it portrays. Generations are now having to raise their kids on the "EX" factor.
Expel:
| 1. | to drive or force out or away; discharge or eject. |
| 2. | to cut off from membership or relations |
Exterminate: to get rid of by destroying; destroy totally;
Exempt: released from, or not subject to, an obligation, liability, etc.
Exile: prolonged separation from one's home, as by force of circumstances
Exclude: to shut out from consideration, privilege, etc.
Whether it starts this way, or ends this way, we "EX ourselves from the companionship of others. (friends, significant others, all types of relatives, marriage, and sometimes...even ourselves and our own feelings.)
Statistics on the subject:
- In 2009 alone, it is estimated that 45% - 50% of first marriages end in divorce in the U.S.
- 60% - 67% of SECOND marriages end in divorce in the U.S.
- 73% - 74% of THIRD marriages end in divorce in the U.S.
I seem to be going head to head with my naive innocence and my crutch, the "Ex" factor. Keeping me sane, is the knowledge that I am not the only one.
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Tips from the wise:
"Make no friendships with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself." Proverbs 22:24-25
"If you find honey, eat just enough, too much of it and you will vomit." Proverbs 25:16
"Better is open rebuke than love that it concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." Proverbs 27:5-6
