When we are young we are an open field, running, jumping, frolicking even.

Laughing and trusting, bouncing and gliding.

After that first heartbreak, whether a parent or a love or even a friend, those first bricks are laid, building a barrier between self and pain.

A tentative laugh and yet still a willingness to go all in.

Then the second and the third let downs come, proving the fragility of our innocence and the toughness of our hearts.

Brick by brick, that wall gets higher until we can’t even see over it.

Only a special someone will cause us to jump over that wall, creating a sliver of hope where doubt once lived.

The ladder comes out so we can take a peek over, cautiously weighing the pros and cons.

Once we see the other side, there is no stopping that need to love and trust; we are almost pulled over by our desire and our human need.

Once on the other side, for a brief moment it is blissful…until reality hits and we realize there is no ladder on this side of the wall. The person we thought we loved and trusted is already showing signs of wavering and disappointment.

Panic sets in so we back up against that wall looking for a way out…but it’s too late. We can’t help our love and recognize that familiar pain.

Dammit. Why did we go over that wall? We built it for a reason.

There are two choices now. Find a way back to the other side, our safe zone…or knock it down completely, breaking open our hearts and setting free any fear that might reside. Without the existence of fear, nothing can touch us. Without that wall, we are free.

I choose freedom. Freedom is living a life of acceptance of all the possible outcomes and still be willing to love and be vulnerable. Life has no guarantees except for the guarantee of self and our choices. We always have a choice. Build a wall or knock it down. It is the difference between pain with or without hope. There will always be some form of pain, but I choose hope. Walls are for cowards. Knock them down…or better yet, don’t build them at all.