Show Of Strength

I had always held on to this wispy little belief of mine that no matter what, there is always going to be something in your life that you can hold on to. A prayer, a person, a choice, a profession, a pet, a place..

Either or all of these things (or several others) would, despite any inclement circumstance, provide you with a refuge and protect you with an impenetrable armor and keep you afloat even on the stormiest of seas.

Repeat the prayer in a relentless chant, bury yourself in the arms of your favorite person, stick to the road you have chosen to travel down, work with a soldier's dedication and forget the world around you, immerse yourself in the innocence of your dog's loving eyes, or walk down the streets of your city as it fills you with hope and warmth. These, I believed, were the secrets to surviving life's nasty days.

What happens though, when you find your shoulders slumping in a weak show of defeat as your brain throws in the towel in the face of this seemingly all-consuming turmoil that you are faced with? What happens when the adrenaline clouds your mind with fear and irrational thoughts stand tall with a pompously puffed up chest? You forget the little things that you have clung on to in the past when the going got tough; your little life-rafts seem to evaporate in the burning flames of trouble. So now what do you do?

No, you don't give up. 

You don't bow your head in a display of servitude to the situation. You gather the strongest little bits of you that sit inside your body, so what if they are scattered and seem like they'd be an ill-fit together. Gather them and galvanize them into a solid shield of strength that is mightier than the worst disease, than the harshest words thrown at you, than the sharpest stones hurled at you. You are a creation of the gods. If you look hard enough, you shall find a reflection of the best qualities of your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents hidden beneath layers of skin and bones. Once you find them and form a cohesive and homogeneous defense mechanism for yourself, you transform yourself into a greater person. 

There is nothing in the world that the human mind cannot decipher or overcome. Absolutely nothing.

The difference lies only in the way you look at life. That's the only thing that separates the champions from the masses.

And I'd rather be a champion than look back at my life when I'm eighty and wonder what could have been. That would be a travesty I wouldn't wish upon anyone.