You Exist And You're Heard

I'd like to say thank you to someone special, who's struggles and hard work goes unrecognized a lot of the time. They stay up at night, drowning in thoughts of the past, hurtful memories from a painful once was. Still they wake, making it through yet another day for yet another paycheck. Working day to day and struggling with such heavy personal issues can be such a hard and draining cycle. Working hard day in day out to make money to pay for the simple things in life just to get by, but not having time to mentally and physically heal not just from work, but also their own personal life. No matter who they tell though, still they feel alone at the end of the day, because the reality is they’ll have to learn themselves to heal and move on. At the end of the day, they're going to have to be the one to drag themself out of that dark hole they're in, because they know they need to. Not just for themself, but for their mother, sister, brother, companions, those who are looking up to them and relying on them. This person is me. This person is my mama. This person is my friend. This person is someone out there, who's probably struggling with heavy burdens too, feeling trapped in the same way, in the same cycle.

We all deal with something personal, a lot of real talk that people don’t wanna talk about. But it's a reality to someone somewhere. No more sugar coating, it's time we address the real problem. Whether they be dealing with abuse in a home, inequality at work from the mouths of their coworkers and customers, or dealing with past trauma that is now resurfacing, still they wake though their body and mind is exhausted they fight the urge to fall back asleep, because for some someone is counting on them. For some, they only have themselves. In a world so full of hatred, inequality, and unfairness it's easy to lose sight of everything. It's easy to let the darkness consume you, getting stuck in that mindset of “what's even the point” or “Why me? How is this fair?”.

But something that's kept me going and that I've seen those around me who have been put in similar situations (some even worse), is those emotions they keep confined deep inside. Dig deep down, are you angry? Are you mad there was no justice? Are you sad? Past memories you wish you could change but can't? Now think, whatever it is that has you feeling these emotions, think of the cause. For some, they fight because the idea of letting their oppressor win angers them more, so they fight, they get up and go to work because they want to prove that they are strong, independent, unbroken. For some they get up and fight for someone maybe alive, maybe passed on. Whoever it may be they do it for a purpose, with a purpose and passion so strong, all they know is to keep pushing on. Work shouldn't feel like such a burden, but it is to a lot of people. It's often a source of life to put it bluntly.

Never say it can't happen to you, because you’ll be quite surprised how quick things can change. The adult world hit me hard, reality hit me hard. The world isn't kind at first and still isn’t, but I learned how to have some kind of peace and hope. How? Because I finally see theirs others out there like me, who could relate in the same struggles or even worse, but we refuse to back down from life's obstacles because we all have that flicker of fire, that purpose and passion we all need to fulfill, and deep down, we all realize thats what we're striving for, that “great perhaps” as Rabelais put it. So thank you, to those who fight the urge to call it quits, because a time will come to reap what you sow. You are my inspiration. So don’t let that flame die out cause it's the only light I see now and just like me, others are relying on you to be strong and be brave. Take peace in knowing you're not alone in what you're feeling and what you're going through. We’ll make it out of this.