I'm here to tell you that it's OK, you don't need to worry, be sorry, or expect unrealistic things of yourself. I want to let you know that none of us are prepared for life. We're born naked and helpless, victims of circumstance, unable to chose when, where or how we come into, and learn about, this world.
As new born babies we're unable to feed ourselves, walk, or communicate, our physical and mental fates in the hands of individuals, desperately trying to survive themselves. Life is a test from the first minute we struggle for those first breaths. We literally have to learn to move, to look, to grab, chew, walk, run, speak, and understand, in a world that seems to contradict our natural urges.
We learn to discover and are amazed at the wonder of everything, and then we're told, 'don't touch that,' 'put it down,' 'that's not for you,' stay away from that.'
We learn the fascinating sounds of speech we can form with our mouths, and then we're told, to 'be quiet,' to, 'low our voices,' to, 'say hello, say goodbye,' or asked, 'who taught you that word?'
We learn the freedom of running, spinning, rolling and climbing, and then we're told to 'sit still,' to, 'get down from there and behave,' to, 'stop fidgeting,' and asked why we can't just stop for a moment? And all this is before we venture into the worlds of friendship, school, expectations and rules. Before we start to truly tackle the challenges that come our way emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. Before we're even fully aware, and begin to fully know and understand what is expected of us. These are just the first warning shots, the first bullets that wiz past our bodies, lightly grazing our skin, as we slowly start to comprehend the enormity of living.
Then we grow, and without warning we're marched out and lined up in front of the firing squads of parental expectation, adolescents, bullying, testing, puberty, rules, norms, values, fitting in, jobs, relationships, broken hearts and disappointment. Our bodies, minds and souls are blindfolded and bound, as we struggle to take in, deal with, and understand who we are, where we are, what our purpose is, and how we get to where we feel we need to be. And we're forced to do all of this while being deafened by the gun fire of life, unable to discern from which direction the bullets are suddenly flying at us from, and why people are even shooting at. We're learning, discovering, wondering, enjoying our introduction into life when suddenly we're hit and punctured full of holes by the bullets of emotion, responsibility, hang ups, and things embedded into our subconscious without our knowledge, while growing up.
The bullets pierce us so deeply that they break the bones of our self worth, shred the skin of our confidence, and rupture the heart of our self belief, as we desperately struggle to dodge and shield ourselves.
We become scared to cry, as our tears may be seen as weakness. We try not to show pain, as we fear that we'll be looked down upon and stared at with distain. Instead we hide it all, the tears, the fear, and the uncertainty, and we try to pretend that the bullets don't bother us and that the pain is not real, while all the time hoping that someone will stop whoever is firing at us.
But I'm here to tell you that it's OK. That we're all dodging bullets in a fight to escape the barrage of gun fire, trying desperately to survive the firing squad, and become the person we want to be.
None of us were born bulletproof, we're all full of holes, lined up along the wall next to one another and bombarded with shots! But we can stop it; We can all walk away. All we have to do is stop trying so hard to dodge the bullets and instead accept the fear, doubt and pain being fired toward us. If we do this we can then look closely at the firing squads and get a good look at their faces. Only then will we see ourselves amongst them, not just in our own firing squad but also in the firing squads of all the people either side of us; a gun in our hand, our finger pulling the trigger. We perpetuate this cycle by picking up a gun loaded with negative energy and then joining the ranks of those firing indiscriminately at others, whom are just simply trying to enjoy the wonder of life. So I'm also here to tell you that none of us our born bulletproof but none of us have to be, as long as we all simply stop firing and put down our guns.