The Battle Between Darkness and Light

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Conflict will either unite, or divide.  Destruction lingers on the winds accompanying it, as death lingers in the hearts of those who have loved and lost. See, the thing about loss is that it will either strengthen, or shatter; harden, or soften. We fight to hold on, and we fight to let go.

Hardships are fire to be wielded as either a sword of flames, or the fuel which burns down empires. But the ashes of fallen empires form the mortar to construct the most indestructible and impenetrable of fortresses. The builders of these safe havens harbour every stone and stick ever thrown their way; bank them in silos, awaiting the day their resilience is called upon to serve their fellow humans.

The warriors of empathy as they are cannot be perturbed by falsely hateful words. They are comprised only of love, waiting patiently in the dark for the lost to join them in the light. They do not give up and refuse to walk away. As Martin Luther King once said, "You cannot drive out darkness with darkness; only light can do that. You cannot fight hate with hate; only love can do that."

Keep shining as you do; keep loving as you do. For an act steeped in compassion is never for naught. The darkness will test you, it will push your love and light to their limits. You must not give in; you mustn't give up. Hearts in the deepest hues of black, need the sun most of all. Love them unconditionally; count good deeds, not faults. For to err is human, but to forgive is divine. 

Life is too short to collect wrongs and missteps. In the end, these aren't the moments that matter. What does matter...all that matters is this: how well did you live? How well did you love? How well did you learn to let go? And how well did you hold on for dear life, to that which made your heart sing?

Conflict will either unite, or divide. So, what'll it be? I for one choose unity. Accepted or not, it will remain as steadfast tomorrow, as it was today. What is loved, is never lost. We fight to hold on and we fight to let go, but it is not the living who should ever be forgotten. Grieve your dead, pick up your sword of light, and fight to hold on to all that still remains. When the night terrors come⸺for they surely will⸺love harder and louder than ever before.

The finality of death is the most powerful teacher of all the forces this world has to offer. It is a poignant reminder that nothing which still lives and breathes is ever too far gone. Anger is loneliness; hatred is pain; jealousy is neglect. And when we can recognise, acknowledge, and validate that void in the hearts of others, rather than contributing to it, the best parts of them are revealed.

To quote Lilo and Stitch, "...family means nobody is left behind, or forgotten." 

We don't get to pick and choose which family members are most palatable. Nobody decides for me. None of you will stop me loving or claiming my own. I made that mistake for the last time when I buried a man I no longer knew, through no other's choices but my own. 

Don't tell me that it was his choices, not mine. That's not true. I don't deserve that kind of narcissistic indulgence. My father did not choose bipolar; the choice to hold onto bitterness for acts committed when he was sick was my own. 

I have bipolar too. Am I any more deserving of my future adult children's forgiveness, than my own father was? What goes around, comes around, thus perhaps my future is already written...

All that's left to do until then is love...for the darkest of hearts, need the light most of all. Whether they deserve it, or not; whether they want it, or not. Love them anyway.

 

☮ ❤








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