The Forge of Heroes

Stress comes in many different forms. Everyday we are challenged in
one-way or another and there are times when we become so exhausted by
the things we face that it becomes difficult to find good reason to
try anymore. Life can sometimes be a grinding stone where every
detail of it seems wearing and abrasive. It's often a natural test of
determination and will. A side effect that comes from the world in
which we live with all of our man made vices and issues. We find
ourselves trying to keep up with the pace of an unsympathetic world
that would just as soon pass us by, often without ever thinking of a
good reason why. We do it because that is what we were taught to do.
That is what we were told is a normal life. Conform to the machine or
your not really alive. It seems to be a bit antithetical to truth.
But we believe it just the same because this is life in the man made
world. There's not much we can do about it except to try our best to
keep up with it or allow it to pass us by. Either way I have a gold
dollar that says we will live through it.
Life in the modern age is stressful. There are countless things that
need considering and infinite ways to loose everything you have.
Being that we live in an extreme form of materialistic society the
idea of loosing it all is nothing short of the end of our world.
Possession, money, and power are the great motivators of the day for
many people. Without thought or question some people have to have
these things in order to be content but they soon find out that they
will always want more. And the wanting is sometimes the very thing
the holds us back or causes the vilest of acts. Wars begin the same
way.
There is an odd trickle down effect to the stressful world in which
we live. Because of our interaction and the fact that the entire
world in now connected on one level or another the worldly stresses
become personal stresses as well. An event that takes place on the
other side of the world has an impact on our personal lives. This is
the darker side of the progression to unity and a detail that some
never fully register. Yet contrary to what often seems to be our self-
serving natures we still have the potential and often-uncontrollable
emotional ties that make us look more sympathetic. Often enough a
simple photo of a child starving in a third world country touches our
hearts and brings tears to our eyes. A sign that we have not been
completely numbed by the fast flowing lifestyles we lead where the
only thing we seem to have time to concern over is ourselves.
There are people out there in the world who genuinely want to help
and find ways to slow things down or relieve some of the everyday
stresses that plague mankind. They take on more than their share and
act above and beyond the norm because they have a passion for the
welfare of others. They don't do it for fame or glory. They do it
because it is the right thing to do and they value life. The problem
is that there just aren't enough of them.
Against all odds the few who do fight will continue to fight because
someone has to. If they can help or save just one person then there
is hope. But as the world population increases and the problems we
face as an entire race become bigger and bigger it becomes very easy
to loose that hope.
One does not have to devote their entire life to helping others or
trying to save the world. It's a noble act but a futile one. The
lighter side of unity will come when people realize that one person
trying to do it all will never work, but everyone trying to do a
little will add up to nothing short of a miracle. In order for that
to work each of us has to focus our strengths and send that message
out into the world. And the world is in need of many things such as:
wisdom, strength, compassion, serenity, and all the other things that
cannot be bought or stolen. Our greatest strength and most valuable
gift to the world is the core of our nature. It's not artificial in
any way like many of the things we desire and love. It comes straight
from Mother Nature's kitchen and either you have it or you don't. But
everyone has something. The key is to find out exactly what that
something is and build on it. That is where you will find success.
Not in mimicking others or subscribing to everything that is put in
front of you. But by looking inside, finding out where your strengths
lie, focusing on that and that alone until you are ready to go out
there and tell the world "This is who I am and this is what I can
do!"
We do the best we can with what we are given. And those who do that
day-to-day are in the forge of heroes. It's not always easy, but life
on earth never was.

Angel Snowden -2006