The Good Fight

It doesn't bother me, or even surprize me, that some people see me as something less than human. I completely understand the need to try to separate ourselves from things we don't understand. It's much easier to deny our connection to reality, and to each other, than it is to face the truth; that we are not only just connected, but inextricably intertwined.

Denying our intimate relationship with anyone we meet is a survival mechanism. In nature it provides the premise for evolution. It establishes a boundary of conflict necessary for a struggle that results in adaption and growth as a species.

So when someone insists that I am an "evil monster" (because of the things I did in the past) and I don't deserve to live, all they are really doing is establishing a basis for conflict that will, I believe, ultimately result in our growth, together.

I'm not saying they are right. But, neither are they wrong. So long as one person sees me as a monster, then for that one person that is exactly what I am. It's not up to them, of course, to resolve the conflict they create; nature will take care of that all by its self, one way or another. That's what I genuinely believe, and it is why I can find peace even in the midst of extreme conflict. I know that in the end we are all fighting the same fight, and I like to think it's a good one.

(J.D. 6-16-13)