Superman and the crossroads of life

I wrote the poem listed below late last summer. It was a darker moment for me because it I had become completely exhausted compromising who I am and who I wanted to be. For to long I sat in the same crossroads of life afraid to take a chance and always going down the familiar road because it gave me a sense of control. This destructive attitude was completely out of fear. Fear because I didn’t trust that life could be different for me. Fear because if I took a chance then I would lose the possibility of what I have been and fear because change brings the unexpected and even if you are stuck in the wilderness at least I was going in the same familiar direction.

I always had strong relations with my family and both of my parents nurtured in me a strong foundation of right and wrong but as I became older and allowed the community around me to influence my decisions I began to compromise who I was so I could fit in with the expectations of others. It’s interesting how people try so hard to bring you down to there level so they can feel better about themselves. I found myself justifying many of my actions to myself or more often I simply ignored it until an event triggered the response that became so familiar to me. Whenever you compromise the individual you were created to be you in the end are the one that looses!!! We settle in this hedonistic culture of ours for second best. Many I find don’t remember who they were, that person they were before their innocence was stolen from them leaving them broken inside and incapable of acting out constructively in life.

Don’t let fear destroy your heart. Psalm 27 speaks of Yahweh being our light and salvation and we need not fear anyone. It’s easy to say but often the vulnerability and the potential isolation from the community around us destroys the possibility of who we could be. I find that life offers us a continuous invitation to believe in the goodness of I was created to be. Remember Superman when he was the humble Clark Kent was not who he truly was but instead found himself living an illusion. It was a mask he wore to protect his identity, which allowed him to hide from the rest of the world. Who he was under his disguise was a mighty champion of evil and a beacon of light and hope to a troubled world around him. We too are such a light but more often then not we cover the light out of fear. For to long I resisted the truth about myself. I lied for to long and hid from my self the pains of my past but if I have learned anything at all about life in the last year it’s that I cannot substitute the person I was created to be, this humble gift of love because I am to scared to stand up and say no more. Life for many is a carrousel ride but when we jump off the horse it becomes a never-ending adventure discovering our main purpose in life isn’t what I get out of life but rather what I give. Life is about love. If you want something you have to be willing to give it up first.