Forward
What is my direction?
Left… with my parents’ mistakes.
Right… destroyed by society’s failings.
Left… to fend for oneself in this desolation.
Right… distraught, forsaken in one cold world.
Left… weak and feeble looking only for strength.
Right… afraid of anything good this place might offer.
Left is worthless. Right is hopeless. Standing still is still worse. Yet, so many choose wrongly. So many choose to wallow in their present, given circumstance. They find themselves born into a mess, into mistakes, into troubles and assume that their lives have Calvinistically been set out before them, and in their assumptions they lose all hope, all faith, even their desires begin to melt away. They’ve given up. They’ve forgotten what is means to live, to care, what it means to look forward.
There’s a story that’s been passed down from generation to generation in the Scottish culture. It tells of a man, named Robert the Bruce, who is commonly known as the future king, guilty of betraying the infamous William Wallace. Afterwards, however, he rose up to lead Scotland to its freedom. But on his deathbed he requested that his heart be removed from his body and taken on a crusade by a worthy knight. His close friend, James Douglas, who was at his side as he passed, took on this responsibility. In every battle that Douglas fought, the embalmed heart of Robert the Bruce was carried around his neck.
In a final, ill-fated battle against the Moors in 1330, Douglas found himself surrounded by his enemy. Death, inescapable, was creeping towards him. And in that moment he reached for the heart pressed against his chest, flung it into the enemy’s midst and cried out, “Forward, brave heart, as ever thou were wont to do, and Douglas will follow his king’s heart or die!” The motto of the Douglas clan to this day is simply, “Forward.”
Forward. He faced tragedy and yet he moved forward. There was no hope of survival, no possibility of coming out on top, yet his direction was advancing. He didn’t turn to his right or to his left seeking escape; he didn’t stand still waiting for death to overtake him; he ran straight ahead with courage, with boldness believing in what he fought for. But I speak of those who cannot, who will not rebel against their own enslavement to fear, complacency and even apathy. They are bound by the horrors of this Earth and choose to be comfortable in them. It’s a disaster that destroys any ounce of optimism.
The American Heritage® Dictionary defines Forward as: "moving toward a position in front; ardently inclined; or eager." And it is so inclined that anyone can ever lift themselves from their pain, from misfortune, from any wrongs ever committed to them. Not until we are eager can we can find that strength to drop our depression, to stop tormenting ourselves with idleness. Humanity was never meant to sit down and watch time pass by. Our minds are wired for movement. Our bodies are laced with the ability to run, to go towards something.
So many of us are forced to live through unbelievably dire situations. The death of loved ones, calamities that take from us all we know, abuse from ones we can’t escape are all conditions that can transform once happy lives to distraught, pitiful individuals. But if there is ever one thing we can do it is to move forward. We can try over and over again until there’s nothing left in us. What we must forever stray from is allowing ourselves to quit, to say it’s too much.
I know times can be hard. I also know what it feels like to give up, to not care. I know how much worse it is to lose hope, to stop trying because things got difficult. Forward motion is the only direction that we will find something worth living. Those who sit by waiting for life to ease its grip will only ever be held tighter. Remember the word Forward when things fall through. Remember the word Forward when times get rough. Remember the word Forward when life becomes impossible. Remember that the only direction to ever move is Forward.
Left… with my parents’ mistakes.
Right… destroyed by society’s failings.
Left… to fend for oneself in this desolation.
Right… distraught, forsaken in one cold world.
Left… weak and feeble looking only for strength.
Right… afraid of anything good this place might offer.
Left is worthless. Right is hopeless. Standing still is still worse. Yet, so many choose wrongly. So many choose to wallow in their present, given circumstance. They find themselves born into a mess, into mistakes, into troubles and assume that their lives have Calvinistically been set out before them, and in their assumptions they lose all hope, all faith, even their desires begin to melt away. They’ve given up. They’ve forgotten what is means to live, to care, what it means to look forward.
There’s a story that’s been passed down from generation to generation in the Scottish culture. It tells of a man, named Robert the Bruce, who is commonly known as the future king, guilty of betraying the infamous William Wallace. Afterwards, however, he rose up to lead Scotland to its freedom. But on his deathbed he requested that his heart be removed from his body and taken on a crusade by a worthy knight. His close friend, James Douglas, who was at his side as he passed, took on this responsibility. In every battle that Douglas fought, the embalmed heart of Robert the Bruce was carried around his neck.
In a final, ill-fated battle against the Moors in 1330, Douglas found himself surrounded by his enemy. Death, inescapable, was creeping towards him. And in that moment he reached for the heart pressed against his chest, flung it into the enemy’s midst and cried out, “Forward, brave heart, as ever thou were wont to do, and Douglas will follow his king’s heart or die!” The motto of the Douglas clan to this day is simply, “Forward.”
Forward. He faced tragedy and yet he moved forward. There was no hope of survival, no possibility of coming out on top, yet his direction was advancing. He didn’t turn to his right or to his left seeking escape; he didn’t stand still waiting for death to overtake him; he ran straight ahead with courage, with boldness believing in what he fought for. But I speak of those who cannot, who will not rebel against their own enslavement to fear, complacency and even apathy. They are bound by the horrors of this Earth and choose to be comfortable in them. It’s a disaster that destroys any ounce of optimism.
The American Heritage® Dictionary defines Forward as: "moving toward a position in front; ardently inclined; or eager." And it is so inclined that anyone can ever lift themselves from their pain, from misfortune, from any wrongs ever committed to them. Not until we are eager can we can find that strength to drop our depression, to stop tormenting ourselves with idleness. Humanity was never meant to sit down and watch time pass by. Our minds are wired for movement. Our bodies are laced with the ability to run, to go towards something.
So many of us are forced to live through unbelievably dire situations. The death of loved ones, calamities that take from us all we know, abuse from ones we can’t escape are all conditions that can transform once happy lives to distraught, pitiful individuals. But if there is ever one thing we can do it is to move forward. We can try over and over again until there’s nothing left in us. What we must forever stray from is allowing ourselves to quit, to say it’s too much.
I know times can be hard. I also know what it feels like to give up, to not care. I know how much worse it is to lose hope, to stop trying because things got difficult. Forward motion is the only direction that we will find something worth living. Those who sit by waiting for life to ease its grip will only ever be held tighter. Remember the word Forward when things fall through. Remember the word Forward when times get rough. Remember the word Forward when life becomes impossible. Remember that the only direction to ever move is Forward.
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