“Come to me here, now,” I say to the ether. Bewildered, I stand alone on the precipice. Confused, I rise to meet the day as my hopes touch the horizon, and my dreams fall silent in repose. It all feels so real, even as the truth falls off me like raindrops from my flesh. Certain, I turn to walk toward a destiny of which I have no idea.
The beast in me growls at the subtle hints of darkness that try to invade my morning light. I dare those demons to rise up and challenge my soul, a snarl lighting up my smile as the shards of doubt fall away from my weathered flesh. Fuck with me at your peril, come at me to your demise. I dare you.
There are moments in which we are tested. I’ve grown tired of shields and armor, and have cast them aside to take on the wits and sinew of challenges near and far from my heart. The weight of security is burdensome to me. I’d rather face the test with truth and raw power, daring it to beat me where I stand. If I lose, I will humbly kneel to the lesson I have learned. If I win, I will stand tall with the same humility and honor the scars of battle with the wisdom they’ve provided. Either way, a student as I shall find a way to survive and live to learn another day.
There is a loneliness to such knowledge and a solitude to the truth a warrior discovers. In the silence there echoes a song of truth, and in the noise a dampening of the bullshit much of time heaps upon the mind. Soon, the lines of life blur and fade to nothingness, as life becomes the practice, and truth becomes the way. In the chest of such a warrior there beats a story of persistence. The once bent and weary seeker soon sits tall and straight in his own silence. The once weak and desperate now walk strong and determined. The practice no longer is meant to get them somewhere, for the strong have arrived already. Where they go from this place remains to be seen, but they no longer worry about the destination and choose to, instead, focus on the journey.
There is no truth where the Sun rises. The only truth is in the light that warms my face. There is no reality in the stars that guide my way. The only reality is in the footfalls I choose to get me there. What is gone is gone, and what is to be will be. All I have is this heart, this mind, and the wisdom the book of life has written within me.
Forgetful though I am, I remember. A man though I be, I am divinely powerful beyond all imagination. Separate though I seem, I am fully connected to all that is, all that was, and all that will ever be. I care not for the stories of those weakened by the need for ghosts. I care only for the steely gaze of a soft heart, and the touch of love that caresses the sweat of labor from my brow and offers a soft pat on my ass to remind me that it remains beside me. I care not for the story or the dream, but for the taste of your lips on mine and the song of pleasure that pours from your soul when it can take no more, but wants it all.
I go now, onward to whatever destiny this day shall provide to learn the lessons meant to be taught. “Come to me here, now,” I will say to the ether, awaiting a reply. I will touch the horizon and the confusion will end. I will dream so loudly as to shake the very edges of the Universe. Then, I will know that I have lived well, to the purpose that pours from within me. Then, I will speak your name and you will believe that I am.
Love.