As I start writing, with this pen in my hand I feel a power come over me, a feeling of immense strength and courage. I feel like a God; an ancient Greek war God, with this power, to make a blank, worthless piece of paper worth a thousand thoughts, unleashing these demons of thought all over it.
This paper is my battlefield, my pen is a mighty sword, and my words are an army. I am up against you, your thoughts, your beliefs, your morals, your every basic instinct. Here on my battlefield, I never lose. Here on my battlefield, every strike of my mighty sword is powered by an army so strong it pierces right through your eyes, leaving a mark all over your able senses. Every word you read and agree with, you’re submitting to my army, making it stronger than before. Every word you read and disagree with, my army and demons leave their mark on you, leaving you conflicted. Like an unarmed soldier, just another breath away from an incoming onslaught of a hundred bullets. And, if you throw this page away, it will still remain. This army will keep on marching. You however, will be guilty of a forfeit - ran away from a fight, a sore loser.
There are millions of these battles taking place, at any given day, at any given time. You are willingly, yet unknowingly taking part in these battles and losing miserably, making the war lords stronger, everyday. Every piece you read about a rebellion against the do-gooders of the world, in a god forsaken part of this planet that we choose to ignore. Every newspaper article condemning a way of life that falls out of the well outlined boundaries of our so called, free-willed, democratic, nature friendly, morally strong society. Any literature with a hint of dethroning a religion of its grass roots, or any literature demonizing our basic instincts labelling them a threat to the “moral fibre” of our faith for that matter. Every water bottle label you read, every letter you receive in the mail, every advertisement you see on television, paid for by a charitable organization requesting your contribution, every health and safety public message, every history book ever written, and everything you have ever read. A battle waged, and gloriously won by the war lord holding the all mighty sword. Yes, you lost.
Why?
Because, the concept of free-will in a society with laws and government is as laughable as a multiple choice test on quantum physics with no right or wrong answers. Because you are enslaved, by a system that is your own creation. A system intended to work towards your welfare and prosperity, now depends on your compliance.
Because, your definition of paradise is exactly what your world was once. Because your taste for a slice of heaven on earth, comes with life lasting side effects of, jobs you don’t want to do, clothes you don’t like to wear, smiling when you want to cry, staying up when you want to sleep, travelling when you want to be around the ones you love, eating what you don’t desire, and wishing to be exactly the opposite of what you are. Because, you would rather donate some pocket change to charitable organizations so you don’t feel bad about not feeding a starving child. Because, you have accepted defeat, at the hands of your own, morally strong, politically correct, eco - friendly system you have the gall to call a civilized society.
Why are you always rushing to be somewhere? Why are you always looking at your watch? Checking your e-mails constantly, always fiddling with your cell phone to make sure you don’t miss a call, scrolling through your blackberry so you don’t miss a single mass notification sent out. As if you are running out of time. Why are you scrambling through your day? Why are you skipping over your health, family, and urges? So, you can always stay a step ahead in a timeless, endless race?
When will you stop? When you start skipping meals, so you can have more time to meet the project deadline? When you skip your loved ones’ birthdays, so you can put a smile a clients’ face? When you miss your grandmothers’ funeral because, you are already running out of time to submit your project on time, and missing two days would leave you in a hole you would have to claw out of for weeks?
Or, will you stop when sleep becomes a luxury? When you don’t even sit to enjoy your food? When you spend more time at work/school than you do at home? When you only see a beach on a screen? When darkness can’t slow you down, because progress is only a light switch away? When rain becomes a hurdle, instead of a natural wonder? When you consume chemicals to keep from falling asleep? So, what’s next? Say, a sky constructed under the sky, always bright with florescent? Maybe, find a way to download dreams and images of vacations so you don’t even have to walk away from your desk.
You are at war, that you’re losing everyday. So, why go down without putting up a fight? Why just read, write something. Why keep losing? Win something. Create your own battlefield. Be a war lord.
Time is running out. Time is really running out to make your life count. So, sit down and enjoy your next meal, while you can still tell apart a chicken breast from a steak. Slow down when you find yourself walking fast to keep up with everyone around you and look up in the sky, catch an eyeful while it is there. Because, every second you live to witness another, you are just dying. That continuous dim beep you hear when it’s dead silent, that is your ability to hear fading. That blur of see-through abstract lines and dots you see moving down across your eyes when you stare up in the clear sky, that’s your vision diminishing. Those freckles and moles on your skin, sure you can call them beauty marks, but that’s your skin dying, each cell at a time. The clock is ticking, and you lost, yet again.