by Mark Mahon

Created on: September 09, 2009

As a fifteen-year-old burgeoning warrior, I discovered a word, at that time it was quite a long word. That word was 'consequences'. It was a moment, subsequently one of many moments, where life provided me with scenarios and life choices where the decisions that I chose forged great chunks of where my future life journeys led.

One particular choice resulted in my wellness feelings plummeting into dark damp places. I felt angst about the situation from the instant of awakening in the morning and those worries remained with me like heavy chrome-plated chains dragging behind for the rest of the day until I could lay my head on my pillow and let my fears lull me to sleep. Naturally, I dreamt of little else. That era lasted for about one year and the consequences remain as part of me. Some may call it baggage.

Fortunately, the most influential lesson that I observed from that time was that 'change is inevitable'. No matter how difficult something appears to be at any particular moment, subtle changes creep into your existence along the way until all of a sudden everything is different. Thanks to that lesson, I was able to cope throughout consequent difficulties and I will be able to grind through the predestined dark times to come by knowing that nothing is forever.

I am not sure that any person could claim that they have traveled life's expedition exempt from difficulties. Struggling to survive defines life. Your struggles define you. The consequences of your struggles are your unique past baggage. You are a product of your baggage collections. No other will ever collect the same artifacts as you have. For me, that is a wonderful notion. Your baggage is part of you, just as your arm or your eye is part of you. It is the only you that you have. It does not seem quite right to want to discard your eye because you do not like what it has seen. You should be resigned to keeping your arm despite it supporting the hand that has touched things where the memories of the touch may elicit regret.

For me, to travel through life resembles a trek through the jungle. The entrance looks daunting. Unfamiliar noises spit at you from all directions. Once you enter the gloom, you notice well-worn tracks crisscrossing at varying angles, each leading off to unknown destinations. You find resolve knowing that someone or something formed those tracks so they must go somewhere. Some people are predisposed to seeking and following the largest and smoothest track that appears to be direct

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>