Why give in? Why quit?
Why submit or lay down and give way to the weight?
Better yet, why drown in your own emotion?
If at all, why allow anyone the right to become the predictor of your fate?
Why?
Even if you are right. Even if you are wrong.
Even if you have fallen.
Or even if you have been beaten so badly that, in fact, it hurts to breathe or your body hurts so much that the idea of getting back up or taking another step is either unthinkable or insurmountable; still, I have to ask you.
Why give in, or why lay down, or if for no other reason than to scape what’s left of our dignity from the floor, why allow anyone or anything to determine how we live or breathe.
Do not submit.
Do not give in.
If you should pause, then do this because there are moments when you should tilt forward and times when you should withdraw to refuse damage.
Either way, there is only one choice to make –
rise.
It is morning. It is a new day and today signifies the start of a new week.
And that’s fine.
There are changes coming, of course there are.
This is real life. Life changes all the time which means this is nothing new.
We might not always realize the changes we see.
Some changes are gradual and others are quick and unexpected.
Some changes have no meaning or consequences and other changes can be lifechanging.
Perhaps the changes ahead could be harsh and uncomfortable.
But so waht?
Rise.
People reveal themselves. We learn. We realize. And we awaken.
We can do this.
We can take the next step.
However, there is a line which people often stay behind. This line is often invisible, but it’s real.
Yes, the line is everywhere. Of course there is a line.
Think about it.
It’s safe when the dog is on a leash or if there is a fence or a boundary between people and the dangers or true interaction. Everyone is quick to say what they would do in their dreams.
Until the leash is off the dog or the fence is removed.
Then what?
What happens to the people who snarl or growl or look to take shots when your back is turned?
What happens when they have to face the fact that their only weapon is slander when meanwhile, look here, I’m bleeding. But ah, at least I stood up to the fight.
At least I never backed down.
And at least I didn’t quit.
People will often shake their fists and snarl or growl from behind the line.
It’s safe here. Then again, there is no way to advance without moving forward.
There is no way to score points.
There can be no knockdowns or victories.
If this were a tournament, or if life were a competition (which it is), then how could anybody win or advance to the next match if they always look to keep safe and hide behind the line?
So, please feel free to go and hide, if you wish,
but not me.
No, I’d rather do something else.
I want to rise.
The time has come. Go left or right. Move up or down.
Move either way. But move with the intention to move ahead.
Go forward.
Even if the only way to move forward is to suffer, then suffer proudly, and take the pain.
Do not give up your ground.
Do not surrender your heart.
Do not regret your passion simply because it was not equally met or returned with the same intention.
Do not submit to the ideas of your own ugliness.
Nothing about you is ugly.
You could never be ugly, not even if you tried.
Do not quit or surrender your right to regain yourself, or give up the right to stand up, and do not allow yourself to become shy from the pain. Do not shy away from the truth or the pain because this is what prevents you from moving forward.
This is what keeps you stuck with fear.
So, fuck fear.
Get up.
And rise.
Do not allow your intimidation to outweigh your ability to recover.
Above all, do not allow your doubts to steal you away with an internal whisper.
Don’t do this to yourself.
Please . . .
I know all about those whispers. I know them on a first-name basis.
I know about the whispers because once I listen to them, they become louder than any scream.
In fact, the whispers of doubt can become so loud that they drown everything out—and you can’t hear anything else, except for fear.
Rise.
This is the trick.
Move. Get up.
Motion and action creates change and, of course, what better way is there to counteract the unwanted change than to replace thoughts with action?
You have to move.
You have to push yourself.
I know.
But do it.
It would appear to me, the only way to keep from sliding backwards is to move ahead.
So, if this is true, then rise up and move forward.
I don’t care what happened.
I don’t care how bad it is.
I don’t care if it is my fault or not.
I don’t care if it is your fault
(or not).
I don’t care about blame anymore.
I care about moving forward.
I don’t care if it’s the weather. I don’t care if the unwanted changes are just the sign of the times.
I don’t care how dark or hopeless or if there seems to be nothing left.
Do not give up.
Do not give in.
Do not lose another inch of space between you and your destiny.
Otherwise, you lose your place and miss out in the biggest comeback known to man.
Or woman . . .
There is a downtown scene, which I know all too well, yet there are memories here from my youth, which was wild and unfortunate. At the same time, there was room for a sense of hopeless romance and the dream that somehow my life can come to fruition and soon enough, it’s my turn.
I know that youthful spirit is not gone or forgotten.
I want to be dynamite again and boom –
Let me blow.
One of my favorite questions is this:
When is it your turn to have the life you want to live?
I love what this question leads to.
When is it your turn to make the changes you need to make?
When is it your turn to let go of the past?
When are you going to rid yourself from the unwantedness of people, places, and things?
When are you going to let yourself rest from conversations that take place in your head?
Or—
When are you going to stop assuming the worst?
When are you going to start visualizing your next best life?
How are you going to live this life and what are you going to do to make this so?
There will always be judges and there will always be some kind of opposition. Rest assured, there will always be resistance. But, I am told that resistance helps us build strength.
I am told that it takes strength to get back up. I am also told that once we stand, whatever knocked us down is weaker because, in fact, we might have gone down, but we never stayed down.
Understand?
There are times when life hits us in the face. And someone comes along and says, “You’re so strong!”
I often think that I’d be fine to be less strong and not go through this much adversity.
But adversity is not a choice.
And neither is laying down.
This is not about strength.
No. I just call this heroic.
You have to be your own hero.
I would say that this is required because you have to be your own best friend too
You can’t be your own worst enemy forever.
Not if you want to get back up, that is.
If you want to defy the odds, you’ll have to pull yourself up
and make this so.
And sure, I get it.
Life is tough.
Know what else?
People suck!
I know this because I am one of them.
I am no one to claim anything else.
I have done wrong.
But I am not willing to allow this to condemn me
(forever).
Like I said, even if we are wrong, or even if we are guilty or even if this is all revealed and in the face of our consequences, no one has the right to force us to keep our head down.
We have to face the day.
No matter what.
This doesn’t make us right.
This doesn’t mean that we are above the law or better or justified.
All this means is we have the right to own what we’ve done.
Nothing more.
We can account for this. We can atone for this, but we cannot allow ourselves to drown in the murk of our own emotional quicksand.
It is morning.
Earlier than usual.
Rise.
There’s a match ahead of us.
And there’s a line between us and the goal.
You can’t move forward if you’re not willing to cross the line.
Leave the growling and the snarls to the cowards, the liars, or the gossips who talk shit, but they never dare to cross the line or do anything to advance.
Pain is their problem.
But we eat pain.
This is our candy.
Don’t believe me?
Cross the line and find victory, and then trust me when I tell you:
The pain you eat will be sweeter than apple pie.
The Written Addiction 