Thursday, June 28, 2018

Human

I don't want sympathy for this piece, but I do want you to look before you decide to jump in. About a year ago, I had a very deep conversation with a woman, a Christian. Practicing the faith myself, I found myself surrounded with her circle of fellow Christian friends. She spoke to me about dopamine and how a friend explained to her that it was our connection to God. I want you to know that I've never used drugs, but I have attended church about twenty-five percent of my life so I could relate to what she had been talking about. I then met a friend who had been on drugs, I also had a chance to speak with children with practically nothing left but a dirty shoe. On my small journey to the age of thirty-six, I've come to realize what the word: “human” really means, especially after the conversation with the Christian woman. She was not a very well read person, but her way of thinking was humane, I could relate. A former drug dealer explained to me that crack and drugs affect the dopamine in the brain, he concluded by assuring me that this discovery is what changed the world. After the pictures of strung-out mothers, dead babies and rich drug dealers, I felt that I had had enough. I can admit that I did shed a tear. The dopamine in my brain or my connection to God, made me search for ways to keep people away from drugs. If what the woman said is true, then those who found the connection to God and are using it for their own gain, could be to blame for why so many lives are coming to an end at an earlier age than usual. Searching for the fountain of youth, I stumbled across something that if left in the wrong hands, could kill everything and everybody; overwhelmed by the possibilities of my findings, I left my discovery and walked away. Realizing that all of my work would never be discovered, I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and went to sleep. I somehow care, I'm human.  

Thursday, June 21, 2018

The Cult

In this message, I have to get you to understand the human mind. In many cases I've seen people search for a way out of this life. A better way to live. I've seen people search for answers, but the truth is that life can be a scary place once you lose your sense of comfort. The poor and rich often become enemies. These are two different states of thought. My friend, the truth is that some if not all of us are afraid to lose the gift of life. Some of us journey in search for a way out, only to find out that the path is the same dead end for everyone, no matter what path we choose. In that thought, we have the legendary story of the cult. The story begins with a boy child on a mission to find salvation, and while on his journey through the forest, he sees a village. In the village all of the people are dressed alike. From a distance, he sits and watches from a hanging tree branch. He becomes curious, for he is not happy with his own struggles in life. He then falls from the tree into the village and they welcome him in. He begins to attend services with the people in the village. After a certain amount of visits, he begins to act strange when he goes back home to his parents. He no longer follows the same customs that his mother and father taught him. The village is so peaceful that he runs away from home to his new safe-haven. His past life soon fades away, and in time, he becomes accustomed to the cult. In the cult, they hold hands and sing songs while working. A man is appointed a woman to marry and is entitled to a home. Everyone follows the laws of the prophets put in charge. There's no more news, no more television, only worship, work and fellowship with the other members.
Once the boy becomes a man, he begins to question his authority with the leaders of the cult. He begins to want to try new things. As he questions the cult leaders, they disciplined him with more work and point to the heavens for him to find his way.
"I see your future. You crave for your old uncertain life back. You crave to be like the world. I prophesy that you will be brought back to the light with the affliction of our Lord. True discipline is the only way for you to learn that those in the world do not act like the children of our Lord. His way is the only way," the Prophet explains to the boy child, who appears to be losing his way. From a distance you could see two men and a boy standing, two men pointing to the sky and one boy looking up at the sky.
"You fell from the sky into our village and we welcomed you. The prophecy has to be fulfilled, for it was written long before you arrived that you would lead us into the promised land," one of the prophets explains.
Braden, the boy that was soon to be a man replies, "I've lived in peace since I've been here, I want to go out and try something new."
The members then open up the gates and prepare him for his adventure back into the world. On his journey, Braden tries to find his real family that he ran away from years ago, only to discover that they were torn apart when he disappeared as a child. Seeing the world differently now, Braden starts to feel like an outcast. He dresses differently and his work ethic is not like the rest of the world. Walking into a restaurant, he cannot believe how things have changed. After two years of searching for his family, he gives up and goes back to the village.
"What have I done? What have I become?" He says to himself while tending the fields. His appointed wife starts rubbing his back while pointing with her other hand at the world burning on the outside of the village. All of the people in the cult begin to gather around Braden, and start to sing. The prophets then come out, one blowing the trumpet, while the other prophets speak words of encouragement to the members.
"Our time has come brothers and sisters. We've received word that the world outside of this village has burned to hell and we've been chosen to carry on the plans of our Lord. Let us open up the gates of the village and replenish the land," says one of the prophets.
The people then take to their horses and carriages, Braden's wife looks at him smiling, "You chose the right path Braden. Aren't you happy? Our way is the right way. Praise be to our Lord."
In the cult, there was no other way but the way of the prophets and the cult leaders. Realizing that the old world was no more, Braden had nowhere to run to and he had no control or freedom to find a way out. The prophets told him who to marry, when to work, and how to dress. One night Braden woke up and decided that he no longer wanted to be in the cult. He told the leaders that he wanted a change. He began to act out. He told his wife to wear short shorts and tight dresses tailored by him. Realizing that something was wrong, the leaders of the cult felt that he was possessed by evil spirits. They did everything they could to cast them out, but nothing worked. He began to sing crazy songs with the instruments. Braden also began to invent strange gadgets and talk about the future. This was very odd to the cult leaders so they whipped him and tied his hands to a cross while everyone watched him suffer. Braden screamed, but there was no one there to save him. When he passed out while dangling from the cross, they took him down and bathed him with fresh water.
"Have you learned your lesson? Master Braden," asked one of the cult caregivers.
"Yes, I submit to his will," Braden cried out.
The evil spirits are gone!" One of the cult leaders proclaimed as everyone cheered.
The next morning Braden woke up, never to test the prophets of the cult again. Hard discipline had put him back in his place and at the next worship meeting, all of the people watched him say, "Amen."
For it was written that a child would fall from the sky and lead the members of the cult into the new world. The child would grow and journey back through the underworld and brought back to the light while being whipped on a cross. This was the prophecy, this is what the cult members believed. This was the same dead end that left people at a cross roads trying to decipher between realism and delusions. What made the cult so powerful, is that they believed in something other than this world and the world didn't. This belief led them into salvation, this belief led them into the new world. It was the cult's way or no way and when everything was going wrong the cult was certain that their way would fix it. Their way was the only way.
The End.     

Monday, June 18, 2018

Original Sin

Some say beauty can be deceiving. They say it can invade the mind and take us to levels of exploration that often make us lose control of realizing the consequences of our actions. Old stories and fantasies, visions and lustful thoughts that entrap a person to do the unthinkable. So I write a story, a story about a girl with hazel eyes and a man whose eyes fooled him into actions that would cost him everything. Her name was Lauren, and she was the daughter of a carpenter. She often would go with her two sisters over her friend Kara's house. Kara's father had a sickness for girls. His sickness hid behind the walls of a broken home. Every night he would drown himself in the lust that he held inside. He would fantasize about women in the wee hours of the night, not wanting to let go of the images in his mind. When Kara's friends would sleep over, he would entertain them with unusual gestures. He was able to contain himself, until Lauren turned fifteen. Lauren had blossomed into something astoundingly beautiful. One look at her could put any man under a lustful spell. One night, Kara's father, Benjamin Smith Jefferson, came in late, he had just finished up a double shift at the mill. After a few drinks, Mr. Jefferson had a burning desire for love on his trip to the shower. In the heat of that desire, who else could blind a man with a tainted mind other than a half clothed girl also on her way to the bathroom.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry Mr. Jefferson, I didn't know you were in here," Lauren said when opening up the bathroom door while Kara's father was about to shower, "I'll wait."
Mr. Jefferson could not contain himself. Image after image of his fantasies trickled in his mind, over and over again, until the thought had to be fulfilled. He lost control, he was tempted, looking into her hazel eyes, Lauren took over his fickle mind.
"Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to close the door," he said turning on the shower water, "I always watch you smiling at me and I want to share something with you, something that you'll never let go of." As Mr. Jefferson made his move, in a house filled with the opposite sex, even his daughter and wife; at first touch there was no turning back. Holding on to a young innocent girl, his wife entered the bathroom to entertain his thoughts and fell into her husband's original sin. Instant hurt filled her heart, mind, body and soul. Everything that she loved had spontaneously turned into hate. She then rushed to her room to grab Mr. Jefferson's gun. Hearing her daughter and friends screaming as they entered the light from the steaming bathroom had fueled her rage even more. She shoved them to the side and began to shoot. She killed her husband that night at point blank range; she killed the father of her only child. Original sin caused Kara's mother to kill her father without a second thought. One touch turned thoughts into action. The young teenage girls had just witnessed a tragedy and that was it, a fun filled sleep over went from planing the next one to a night with flashing lights and sirens.
After this life changing moment, Lauren would never forgive herself. In all of her beauty, Lauren blamed herself for everything that had occurred that night. Every young teenage boy who tried to be with her could never heal her heart or undo what had been done on the night of June 13, 1997. Crying herself to sleep, trembling at the sound of her father washing up, she began to cut herself. Her mother rushed to the room in the midst of her screaming.
"Why have I been cursed with beauty? Why am I here to live like this? No one loves me Ma." She said, falling to the floor in her mother's arms. Rubbing her hands through her wool curly hair, her mother tried her best to calm her down.
"Lauren, the only thing I can tell you to do is what my mother told me to do when I faced a problem. She told me to write it down. Write away your problems Lauren." Lauren's mother said, holding her shaking daughter. 
After years of trying to overcome, the only thing that kept Lauren alive was a pen and a pad. After years of struggling with the past, she had written everything down. With the okay from everyone involved on the night of June 13, 1997, she published her first book about her life. She chose the title: "Original Sin." Lauren turned nothing into something. Her work saved the lives of so many men and women who battle with original sin. Everyone affected that night used a terrible event and turned it into something good and after her time in prison, Kara's mom spoke life into an audience that had also struggled with climbing out of the pit of lust. Sometimes the only way to overcome guilt is to overcome it with something good.
The End.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Write your woes away

Even if you don't know the rules of writing, write.
Even if people call you stupid, write.
When you're down and out, broke or lost, write.
When you're alone, write.
In the midst of failure and success, write.
If someone makes fun of you or embarrasses you, write.
At the end of your journey, when you’re life is done, you'll notice that you got better and better over time.
Once you've reviewed and edited all of your woes, you'll notice a different story in every writing.
 A story that you told, and a book for someone else to read.
Write. 

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Dear Bill Collector,

Some say depression is contagious, it can be caught at any time.
But...
You have to encourage yourself...
 Then the phone rings.
Wait, I see that look in my mother's eyes again, I seen it over and over again as a child, she doesn't know how she's going to pay-up.
I'm a child, wandering in the jungle in search for a way to provide.
I once wondered why a man who has achieved so much takes his own life.
In my thoughts, the phone rings.
Mom, wait...I'm seeing things.
She's not here, I look around and I'm all grown up.
I'm on my own.
I have to pay-up.
I somehow forgot that everything comes at a price.
I don't know how I got behind, then the phone rings.
My worth went somewhere, I think I have it, let me check my account again.
Wait, it's in the negative, I have some copper under my bed.
Why do you keep calling me on a recorded line?
Why does everything come at a price?
How are you going to sue me? I have nothing left!
Mom, Dad, how did you make it in this jungle?
I'm alone again, it's a weekday and still I can't pay-up.
The phone dies, the electric is off.
The phone is off.
Everything is off.
I better read this book and buy some time, learn something new.
Increase my self-worth.
After paying ten percent, I still don't have a clue.
Wait, I'm smiling, then I get a letter, I've been summoned.
I know some men who got caught up in the wrong game and couldn't pay-up, now they're gone.
The business man put them on their knees and took their life because they couldn't pay-up.
He then put their body in his trunk: The End
I'm sure you get it.
Child, enjoy this meal. Do you hear me? I said lick your fingers, it feels like this may be our last supper, doesn't it?
This hunger will turn you into a saint.
This hunger will make you appreciate your next meal.
This hunger will make you appreciate everything.
The collectors are everywhere.
They blend in with the normal.
You will think that everything is fine and then they strike.
Straighten you up, give you a dose of reality.
I can't afford my medicine.
I find myself in the middle of the floor.
Everything becomes too much.
Turn off the TV, I may have to entertain myself; with no money, I can't pay the bill collectors.
I see things piling up, my blood begins to flow slow.
My heart dreams of a place with no worries and no bills.
My walls are made of papier-mâché because they're caving in.
The clock ticks on the wall, I come to grips, realizing that I have nothing left but my soul and spirit.
The battery in the clock is dead.
I have no income, I then end up out on the street.
In my hunger, there is no more ringing, I see the sun rise while I lay behind a dumpster.
I develop a relationship with it's rays of light.
The sun keeps me warm for free.
That which is nasty is good.
At the soup kitchen I notice that all of the food is expired.
They're feeding me what I used to throw out.
Behind the dumpster I sit and I dream.
I'm fading into nothing.
As I'm fading an old friend notices me, I let her know that I'm a toxic asset.
I scream for her to save herself, she refuses.
She takes me in.
She washes my face, she feeds me.
She's happy to see me, but hurt, because of what I've become.
She cares.
Tears fill her eyes.
She is determined to rebuild me.
I've somehow found true love and a reason to live.
I'm motivated to pay up.
I'm back on track.
Her daughter and son smile at me in the morning.
They call me dad.
The sun still rises every morning just like it did when I was down and out.
I've struck gold.
The phone rings, I answer to pay up, but it's not them it's her.
I've found the cure for depression.
They say a human can feel true love.
They say a human can feel when someone really cares.
The feeling has somehow saved me.
It's somehow recharged my spirit.
I call the bill collector and make arrangements.
For the time being and as long as this love last, I'll be alright.
I've been blessed with a family who found me behind a dumpster.
Priceless.
The payment is on it's way.
P.S.
I promise. 
  

Friday, June 8, 2018

The Gods of Peasants

For one to rule is still not enough. In this story, the art of war stems from peasants who aspire to be kings and queens. First there was one head, then there were two heads, all chopped-off by the rulers and organizers of the kingdoms of earth. For they called themselves supreme rulers, who believed that they were chosen by the Gods to rule. The peasants aspired to be like them. They died praying to the Gods for a change. If one received a message of salvation, it was Sylvester, he became so bitter that he began to blame the Gods for the state of his people. The tribe of peasants.
"We must fight them. We must come together and fight them. Haven't you read the text. Because of Eve and Lilith we are cursed. This is why we must bring all of the tribes together as men and overthrow the Gods," Sylvester explained to the tribal leaders.
"Do not be foolish Sylvester. Those myths come from the great pyramids of Egypt, it's all made up. Those who believe that they are supreme rulers are delusional, they are the enemies, not the Gods. Channel your anger towards them." Thaddeus replies.
"If they are myths, then where did your ancestors, the great Greeks get their beliefs. One of my greatest warriors hung himself! You cannot tell me that this was not because of the Gods!" Sylvester emphatically says.
"If we decide to fight against the Gods, tell me what we will become of man if we win? Can man live an eternal life? Must we die for the sake that Gods or supreme leaders may rule? Figure it out Sylvester, it's simple math. If you decide to rebel against that which created us, then once the war is over, there will be nothing left. We cannot win." Thaddeus says, gaining the approval of his men and the other tribes.
Hector the Great, from the mighty Latin tribe stands up.
"Thaddeus is right. No man can face his creator, it's impossible, but we can face those in power. They are the real problem." Hector says, holding his ancient sword tight.
In that moment, just by the tone of his voice and his selection of words, he gains the attention of Tut from the African tribe.
"I know one warrior who tried to face the Gods. His name was Tau, he read the book and spent the rest of his life searching for the tree of knowledge. His family was killed by lions, and he blamed the Gods. He swore on his dead sons grave that he would find a way to fight the Gods. On his journey he read so many books that he enlightened his people to build a tower to the heavens. He convinced them that he had eaten from the tree of knowledge and become like the Gods. The tower was so high that the more they built, the more they died trying to reach the heavens. Tau then found a writer name Zane, who explained to him that a peasant will die on his knees trying to defeat that which cannot be seen. At that moment Tau realized that all of his rage was useless. At every chance he ignored his conscience. The Gods were so wise that the more Tau fought, the more he wore himself out. In that story you must learn that as men we must come to understand that some things our out of our control. A computer can only attempt to kill it's creator if programed. The Gods are so wise that they have given us that power. Sylvester, if you chose to fight against the Gods, you too will find that you will lead all of us into a war with the air." Tut explains, then leaves the room with Thaddeus. They both returned home to their families while the others debated. After debating, all of the other tribes sided with Tut and Thaddeus, Sylvester decided to take his tribe up into the mountains to fight the Gods, only to die in search for nothing. Thaddeus was right, he sent his army to fight the wrong forces. He may have won if he had went for the people in power, he probably could have convinced the other tribes to be brave. In all of his ignorance, he chose to fight the Gods, only to learn that the Gods were so wise that they kept man in his place and they stayed in theirs. After Sylvester, the supreme rulers of the mortal men began to show mercy, for they had realized that without courage, intelligence and will power, they could continue to rule. In the end, they made peace, but even in peace, another Sylvester would rise up, only to blame the Gods for his circumstances. He too would channel his aggression in the wrong place, proving to be powerless and ignorant to those who ruled over him.
The End.