Embrace Today

You Too Can Rise By Phil Wilkey

It’s been many years since I took my oath, this sacred pledge that remains unbroken. As the rest of society crumbles my core grows stronger never wavering against a tide of change. My heart knows inner strength; I don’t need reassurances because when I look in the mirror the reflection is the man I want to see. I’ve never doubted my choices or questioned my path the goals unobtainable to some to me ever-last.

My heart burns true and the light it guides me to a way of life that completes me and fills me with hope.

“I can’t describe this feeling inside I just know Its called pride”. This fire, this flame it still burns through these eyes it will forever shine. This commitment was for life, this promise to myself means more to me than anything I have ever felt and it grows with every passing day. I know what it means to be true, to live honorably, to know I can rely on my beliefs to see me through the week. Screaming for change until the day I die.

This is something that most will never know, a way of living where the rewards keep giving. My spirit is free, mind and soul unchained never living with a crutch or destitute with the bottle. Some people doubt it. In this sea of decay, this concrete jungle, remorseless, unforgiving and nightmarish, I will be the light that will shine through. In a world growing colder the warmth is needed, we have to break down these walls.

Friends and family come first, no matter what, you have to get your priorities straight. There are some things worth defending to the death. Ideals held as a shield to the wrath and the decadence of society. “How can you live with fear inside your heart; I’d fight for my brothers, I’d die for my family”

In these hollow times, where sincerity comes second to self. In times of hardship and pain where tunnels are so deep there is nothing but a sense of foreboding in the infinite blackness, when you have no one to turn to but yourself, when tears cannot form through the grief of a mind allowed to wander. Where hopes rise and fall like the tides smashed against the rocks and washed away like the horror that grips you, where all that is left to fear is fear itself, how do you rise up from this insurmountable uncertainty?

Take a step back. Just stop. Breathe. If you are at your lowest point, where death seems like a welcome release know that you are not alone.

You can only rise up from here.

Learn to appreciate every facet of life, every single minute detail. Savor every landscape. Learn to question and seek answers to everything that interests you. Build a new you from scratch, you’re an open book and every day brings a new chapter. You are unique, remember that and take it everywhere that you go. Learn to love everything from the mountains to the sea. Find joy in simplicity and gain lessons from difficulties faced, learn to look at everything that you do in a different light. Approaching life with a negative outlook will only serve to produce a negative outcome. Smile and laugh at adversity, push yourself mentally and physically, always challenge your mind, you will grow because of it.

Everyone has a talent, find yours and utilize it! You may not conquer the world, you may never find riches or fame but if it gives you happiness then that is worth more than gold and the worlds attention because it is yours and no one can take it away from you.

Search inside yourself and never give up, don’t turn your back on the straight edge because it will never turn its back on you. Be sincere in your actions and the dividends will be tenfold. Filling each day with a positive focus and keeping the mind clear and free to wander and grow will allow you to find that inner peace. Learn to be satisfied with the minimum, to be content without possessions or materialism because you cannot take them with you but instead devote your time to creating memories to fill a lifetime.