When looking for something called Paradise, you won't find it wrapped up in something nice. It won't be hidden under the stair, or anywhere else near there. It won't be inside a box, or behind a door with seventeen locks. It won't inside your favourite food, or disguised by your neighbour's pleasant mood. It won't be in the attic above your head, nor hidden underneath your own bed. It won't be stolen or buried away, by those you despise everyday. It's not a special surprise gift, that your friend has ready for you to heal a rift. It is not concealed away, never to see the light of day. It is not something that can be stolen or broken, it is not something that requires a token. It isn't something that can be borrowed or bought, it is not something that can be taught. It is not something tangible that you can feel, but it is something that is very real. It isn't obtained by hate or pain, but love and tolerance, a benefit for everyone's gain. Something that I must teach, Paradise is within everyone's reach. If you want Paradise, look inside your heart and heart. Good perspective, positive thinking,open-mindedness are good starts. Paradise is not something to be found or discovered here, but made within all that's already there. If you want Paradise don't look any further around, you're already there wherever you stand on the ground. If you want to know Paradise's worth, it is whatever you make of it upon this Earth. No matter what, at the end of the day, what we make of life, determines how much enjoy our stay. -- Inspiration: I keep seeing more and more in the news about people getting violent, getting angry, being hateful, blaming anyone but themselves for the situation they have put themselves in - I want to remind people that not only is it cruel and taking away goodness from others, but being hateful, aggressive, power hungry, violent - it just ends in pain. There is no positive for anyone. It doesn't gain anything. There is no paradise with that kind of mentality, that kind of behaviour, that kind of belief. If we want Earth to be Paradise, we all have the ability and choice to make it so: by being tolerant of others, by accepting difference, by leading with love and positivity. At the end of the day, we are responsible and accountable for our own actions, and the results that follow from them. -- Illustration made in Flamepainter