Onward, Forward!!

We are all in a race with very different starting lines. Some of us do not want to join but have to do so to survive.

The only certain outcome is death. The destination is certain, but the journey is filled with roots ready to trip you up. Control is an illusion for most, but for others, it only comes at a high cost. 

Tomorrow is not promised. We work tirelessly every day, hoping to be remembered by those left behind for our contributions. 

I read a book recommended by one of my best mates. He’s my guitar player, the shake to my “shake and bake”, and brother in arms. He’s also known as the Son of Gondor. The book is called The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (book 1 of the Stormlight Archive).

 ” Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination” represent the first Ideal of the Immortal Words of the knights Radiant.

This, in some crazy way, resonated deeply with me, considering my path up to this moment in time and space.

Life is short, and death is certain, but the lines between those events are infinite. 

We are here all chasing different things, different objectives. We betray, we hate, we forget, we devalue others and ourselves in that quest.

Everyone here is HERE. We all have a purpose and a mission. WE ALL DO! 

In this space, in this timeline, in this universe, yet those are all different. We are all unique beings, with unique characters, informed by our environments and family ties.

I believe love should guide our paths, fill us with purpose, and seek to serve in love and kindness. Do we sometimes love the wrong things? Yes, we freaking certainly do.

It is part of living. Please make sure that at the end of it all, peace is what is in your heart when you cross the door’s threshold.

Dying is inevitable, but living is a choice that comes with strengths and weaknesses.

When we are drowning in pain and isolation, we want to die. I believe we feel that way because we are not meant to be isolated, as we are inherently community creatures.

I am not diminishing the burden of depression and suffering. But that is not the focus of this outpouring of my mind’s wanderings. 

By living, we accept facing challenges. We build, evolve, and grow our castles and kingdoms with the efforts from those challenges. This is much harder than dying. There is pain in growing, and you can ask any woman, any mother, any flower, any tree, any plant. 

It takes strength to get up in the morning, it takes strength to breathe in and out. Every single instance in motion takes strength even through moments of weakness. 

 It is worth serving and being of service to others. Some among us can’t protect themselves, and we must do that for them. 

We move from one moment to the next. We hope to win. We aim to gain the upper hand in this shared struggle. Remember that nothing is promised. Nothing is guaranteed except that life will push and pull. We can only control everything at arm’s length. So we fall, and we rise, we win, or we learn. 

This is the thing I cling to dearly. 

The journey is worth waking up; it is worth rising to the challenges. We hope to live well and be rich. Choose wisely what your riches will be. You can’t take that with you on the next leg of your journey. 

Onward, forward with love and kindness. Sometimes, you reach the destination without all the holes in your ticket punched. Sadly, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

As Lirin said to his son Kaladin Stormblessed in the way of kings:

“Somebody has to start. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right. If nobody starts, then others cannot follow.” 

There are glimmers throughout our hours and days here; if you can, open your eyes and look around. Choose kindness above all!

Seeing a kid smile, 

Making someone feel loved by a simple hello,

Invite a friend for a walk

Let yourself be helped

Embrace life and live it fully!