Dichotomy of Humanity

“And all
Of my Demons
Would see this
And run!”
– “Last Chance Dreams” - Dirty Shannon

Remember those old cartoons? You know, the ones where the character has the little angel and little devil on either shoulder. Sometimes they would end up arguing, and maybe even getting into a fight themselves. I don’t think that’s very far off from the truth though. We all have those inner battles that we fight. It’s a constant struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, light and darkness. And sadly, it’s battles that aren’t always won by good.

Every single day we face another battle. Do you keep the extra cash that the cashier gave you by mistake? Do you let anger, fear, or hate cloud your judgment or opinion of something? Do you take out a bad day at work on those waiting for you at home?

Millions of choices every day come down to this simple inner struggle. So how do you deal with it? Is this a struggle that overwhelms you or do you know how to surf this particular wave? Chances are, most of us are simply trying to make it through this day and not fuck things up too badly. Not a very good way to live, don’t you think?

So how do we win this inner struggle? Or CAN we even win it?

There’s no magic wand, no special formula, no cure-all that I can give you to suddenly make you CHAMPION EXTREME. The simple truth is, you will fight this battle each and every day you draw breath on this planet. What you’ve got to figure out is how to win more of those battles than you lose. And believe me; you will lose some of the battles. But listen to me…that’s OK. You’re human, not perfect.

So, how DO you win a battle that never ends? How do you make it through each day winning more than you lose?

Well, the first thing you HAVE to remember…is that you have around you people that love you and care about you, regardless of what the day’s battle tally is. I think that this is the ONLY way you make it to tomorrow in one piece.

Once you forget this, then you find yourself alone and trying to deal with the battles by yourself. It’s then that you start to lose more often, until eventually, all you see is the little devil on your shoulder and his voice is the only one you can hear. Then you fight that last battle, and sadly, you’ve already lost.

You need to have a solid core, faith in yourself, and a belief that you are loved. These are the things that help you to win each battle.

Your core is your guide, your basic compass. It’s what leads you through every day, keeping you pointed towards the best you, you can be. In order to follow that core, you have to believe in yourself. You have to be able to trust your heart to make the right choices to keep you going on the right path. And without love, nothing ever seems to work right. No matter how dark your day gets, if you know that someone loves you, just for you, you can get through it. If only to go home and see that person smile with love when you walk through the door.

We all fight, some harder than others. Sometimes we might need a little help in our daily fights. That’s OK. Like I said, you’re human, not perfect. All you have to do is reach out a hand and help will be there. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you’re going through. Help will be there.

Now, smack that little red bastard off your shoulder and let’s go have some fun. :-)