Beware the edge of a map....

For those of us who have made the trip around the sun more than 25, or 30 times, the world feels comfortable calling us "adults." I always found that label to be ... odd. What determines the barrier between child and adult? What is this unseen rite of passage that the people of the world pick up on, and suddenly realize that an individual is no longer a juvenile? I'm on my 47th round with our glowing fire-circle in the sky, and God knows that I do immature things all the time; often proudly.

However, there is no doubt. I am an adult. What happened?

Most of my fellow adults know this answer. We've learned it at various stages through our life, in one fashion or another.

The difference between children and adults is the loss of innocence.

One day in each of our lives, we face an event that defines our transition into the world of the grown-up. Grief. Sadness. Loss. Anger. Jealousy. Lust. The dark side of emotion. We nip the edges when we are younger, but it isn't until we are hit hard with it that we truly learn.

The world plays favorites. It eats it's young.

The world...is full of monsters.

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