Whenever you find yourself fading amid the crowd, consumed with a spirit as low as the ground, or helplessly drowning in the filthy pit we call society, you have to close your eyes. Close your eyes and cut whatever connection linking you to the outside world. Now, it is all about you and you alone. Drag yourself under the spotlight for the time being. This is not a solo performance but a trial, a trial taking place in the holy supreme court of your mind. This court is not as any other, because here you are the suspect, the judge, the witness and the jury.
Tick-tack, tick-tack...The clock is ticking as you wait in agony for your verdict on yourself.
God! Why is it so hard to decide, even when what you ought to do is as clear as the sun in summer?! You have to remember one thing though: until you, the judge, have enough courage to announce the rightful verdict, you are allowed to yell at yourself, shout or cry if you wish. But whatever you do, don’t dare to open your eyes. You are still not ready, not yet.
Finally, the long awaited moment has come as the judge bangs down his gavel:
“Whether the suspect is guilty or not is of no importance. However, he is the only one responsible for putting his life back on the rails again at whatever cost”
Congratulations! You just claimed yourself ready. This is the first step, and that is always the hardest. You may now open your eyelids.
At the first glance, everything seems the same as you left it: the rushing crowd, ready to crush anyone in their way as if they were rhinos, the dreadful cacophony of noise and chaos we call “modern life”, and of course those poisonous acquaintances who never stop poking their noses into everyone’s business but their own. Nothing has really changed, except you. You are not your old self anymore; you are a new soul with a new fate, materialised in the same body.
You are not walking blindfolded in the maze of life anymore; you know where you ought to go and what path should be taken. Yet this time, you are more experienced and less naive. It hits hard to realise that not everyone who calls you “friend” is a potential ally, and the fact that roses have thorns hits even harder. But you learned the lesson that life has brutally taught you, and the scars you are wearing have only made you tougher.
Starting at this very second, there is no going back. The surrenderer you once were was found guilty as charged in that trial, then condemned and executed on the spot as a part of a ritual to your success. He is gone, vanished as if he never existed. And for your best, you better have no longing for him.
Well done! So far, so good! Not only were you aware a change is needed, but you also managed to overcome your fears and triumph over yourself. Not bad at all, you are forcing your way out of the swamp swiftly. However, this is not done with yet and the road is still long.
Your next mission is to subdue everyone spreading negativity around you. Negativity is an apocalypse pandemic; it spares nobody - not even your loved ones - and consciously or not, they will do everything within their reach to affect you as well. Let the “catch me if you can” game begin!
This is going to be a lethal, tiresome game on your behalf. As the name suggests, the objective is quite clear: Survive! And don’t let them get you! Remember those doomsday movies where an epidemic turns everyone into zombies? Negativity works the same way, except that instead of feeding on your brain, the negativity-zombies will devour your mind. They will corrupt and defile it before turning you into one of them.
In the process, you will feel them tearing apart every inch of your mind until you lose your common sense. You will throw everything you have been chasing for the sake of a fake salvation to stop the torture. As a compromise to stop the pain, the pain they made themselves, those zombies want you to lose whatever purpose pushing you forward. And when you go limp, not able to resist anymore, they will gleefully watch your free fall towards the bottom, smiling with lips dripping blood - your blood - as they show their crooked, yellowish fangs. Then, they will proudly preach to you:
“See? We already told you what you are chasing is beyond the possible.”
Wake up! Nothing is impossible unless you want it to be. Don’t mind those zombies, they can’t hurt you! You already have the vaccine, and you are immune to the pandemic they cause. You should be proud of yourself: only those who wrote their own fate on the scroll of life by themselves can acquire such immunity.
Unroll your scroll and read it out loud. Not even the sky is the limit! Chant the rules you swore to stick to as you transform dreams into living reality. Declare war on the obstacles in your path, yet forgive those who created them: hatred and grudge are nothing but an omen of self-destruction, another enemy to defeat that is.
You are thirsty to make a change and as thirsty to learn. Good! That is what you need to survive in the dismal desert of mayhem. Learn to pay no mind to the distractions and focus on your target, learn to forget the framework and direct your attention to the big picture. You will be stunned by how much time you wasted trying to defend or explain yourself to people who never took you seriously.
As soon as you master this skill, you will find yourself nodding at somebody’s bullshit of a speech, dismissing with a smile another who claims you will not make it. Furthermore, you will deliberately choose silence to spare yourself futile conversations. In plain words, you will end up possessing a carefree mind, the greatest tool one can ever have.
With time, the revolting cacophony of those who pull you down towards the bottom will fade away. And eventually, you will feel lighter, refreshed, as you dispose of the huge burden on your shoulders. The number of people around you will shrink as they disappear from your sight one by one. Don’t worry though; this is not loneliness and you are not alone. It is but a journey in a peaceful sanctum, a journey where you will accompany yourself to be reminded of how thrilling and full of adventure your own company is.
It is important to be able to turn off the surrounding noise, keep the mind undisturbed, and set one's own standards. Another good article from you.