The Last Green Valley

by Mark T. Sullivan

Is that what it takes to feel like this? To come so close to death, you want to burst for joy because you feel so glad to be alive?

Emil knew he had made the right move for their survival. But he still chafed at being at other men’s whims, especially when they were men he despised.

“Deep down, I think she doesn’t like other people because she doesn’t like herself.”

Pray? A waste of time. You do what you want, Adella, but I’ll figure my own way, thank you. No reason to get God involved if he does not exist.

From every fight he’d been in or watched, he had learned lessons and had come to recognize that where you hit a man was far more important than how hard you hit him.

Can happiness be that easy? Finding little joys in the worst moments?

Laughter was like a hot shower for the soul after a long, cold day.

“Laughter keeps you young at heart. Laugh at least once a day. Twice is better.”

our job in life is to endure, to be kind, and to constantly put the past behind us and not dwell too much on the future. If you must look back, try to find the beauty and the benefit in every cruelty done to you. If you must think about the future, try to have no expectations about it.

Our pleas are not heard by some invisible force in the sky. We are alone. We fight for survival every day. We can count on no one but ourselves.

How can so much hope and tragedy be packed into one day?

I know from experience that the shadows can’t last forever. Eventually good fortune will come your way.”

“But I don’t think I’ll ever understand why so many people like me were killed or persecuted around me. And I won’t ever get why their lives had to end the way they did. Where’s the blessed journey of discovery in any of that?”

Emil had begged not to be put in this position, and now here he was. There was no God in that, no God at all.

“Sometimes that’s all we really need to get up and go. Food and kindness.”

“If you can’t, you must. It is always so.

“What you seek is what you will find, but only if you hunt it with all your heart and mind.”

You decide; then you act. You choose faith; then you walk through the door.

all it took to have a good life was a cheerful, grateful mood, a clearly envisioned, heartfelt dream, and the willingness to chase it with an unwavering belief in its eventual realization.

why some people were willing to uproot and chase freedom at all costs while others were content to stew in their misery.

He, of course, had come to believe that it is only rare individuals who can rely completely on themselves. At some point, most people will face obstacles or situations that seem impossible to overcome unless they have the stubborn will to dream and learn to humble themselves and rely on a greater power as they work to make their vision real.

“Don’t chew on the bad things that happen to you, dear. Try to see the beauty in every cruelty. It sets you free. Forgive hurt if you want to heal a broken heart. Try to be grateful for every setback or tragedy, because by living through them, you become stronger. I see the hand of God in that.

Emil seemed to see miracle and opportunity everywhere he looked and took massive risks that he was rewarded for throughout the rest of his life.