unmasked

there are times when we are given the rare opportunity to know extraordinary people. some of them are those that we wouldn't give a second glance if we were to pass them on the street. they appear to be jaded, introverted, surly, altogether unlikable. the type of people we usually try to avoid. or sometimes people who seem to be very together, who are unbelievable by anyone's standards and who can make us feel inadequate at times.

but when we take a chance on them and decide to extend our boundaries and go beyond our comfort zone, we come to know these people. and the more time we spend with them, the more we come to realize who it is they really are, that they're amazing.

given time, we learn their stories, the things that made them who they are and their reasons of certain things. but even after years, we might never know everything about them. but we don't really have to.

because we love them anyway, regardless of time and circumstance.

they're the ones that stay with us.

wonder

to see the world in a strange new way, to view reality through rose-colored glasses. lenses that do not obstruct or distort but allow a newfound perception. to look through the eyes of another and see what they see. to know the world of a friend or loved one. we cannot truly experience life as they would.

but when they open their hearts and their minds to the world, they show the color of their soul. we see the world through their eyes and we rediscover the beauty in things that had been lost to us.

even a glimpse into another's mind can draw you deep into a strange, wonderful place. and it can fill you with hope. it gives you the resolve to endure through the night so that you might awake to the dawn. strength is bestowed to believe in a new day.

to see this world through strange eyes and rose-colored glasses.

reminiscence

an overwhelming wave of nostalgia often washes over me as i reach an end. the conclusion of a season or year. when time spent with loved ones begins to wind down. the finish of a day, a week a month. reflection following these ends is, more often than not, filled with the sorrow and regret that i did not make anything more of the time than i did.

but i have come to terms that this feeling is inevitable, it has always come and will continue to do so forever more.

but more than that, i have also come to know that another emotion that always accompanies my nostalgia: hope. it is the guiding light that leads me through the darkness of my remorse to the new dawn. a brand new day awaits following every night filled with grief. a chance to do better and realize the dreams you dreamed the sleep before.

wake

there are dreams that cannot be forgotten.

these shades of a life we could have. that we might have had. we witness these incredible visions of things that have not come to pass, things that could seem only to exist in an idyllic reality. but in the moment, it feels possible. it feels real.

our dreams make us happy, happier than we could think to be in the waking present. the euphoria they have the ability to create is unparalleled. but when we awake, our worlds collide and the illusions are shattered.

but the unravelling of our dreams to separate them from reality is necessary to test their strength. to root out the weak and demonstrate which ones have a will to survive. which ones have the ardor and power to enter the world of reality.

they leave their mark, willing themselves into our conscoiusness. there they burrow, creating a longing, a hollow within our souls. but the emptiness is a wound that can only be healed by that which caused it: the dream. and when it is filled, we are whole again.

our dreams are what make us human. dreams give us vitality. dreams give us hope.

dreams are the chance to make our deepest desires come to pass.

i dream to be woken up.

forgotten

why is it, that at many points throughout our daily lives, we enounter the most remarkable individuals and receive opportunities to be enthralled by them, by their wisdom, their kindness, their beauty, and yet we say nothing of it, letting their splendor go seemingly unnoticed? is it simply because we believe they are aware of it, that they are reminded of it so many times each and every day? does it ever occur to us that this might not be the case, that these beautiful aspects of those around us are taken for granted, unappreciated and ignored?

what difficulty is it to go an extra step and let these complimentary thoughts become realized as words? why can we not let them know they are precious to us?

why is it i cannot convey what it is i want to say?

rant

i observe the world through critical eyes, watching the destructive forces of the media tear apart our pastimes, interests and entertainment. it is difficult to imagine a future where our creative forces have been strengthened and given the power to build worlds that are not filled with hollow shades of the latest dying trend, allowed to compose unrestrained by the binding idiocy of the modern age.

regrettably, much of my creation is due to the work of others, inspiration always capable of being traced to its root, the source of its birth. in fact, a great deal of my works begin as a nearly identical copy of the original template, only slight details altered within the whole.

but through a fair deal of effort and natural evolution, these ideas seemingly take on lives of their own, developing and shifting ways i would have never before thought possible. but i believe that they, in similitude of myself, are dissatisfied with the shallow echoes that fill our reality, yearning for more, a freedom from these shackles of the world.

but our generation seems to be fueled solely by rebellion. their lives are steered by it; they are possessed of radical notions, simply desirous of defiance. this robs them of individual thought, always being swayed into the contrary by others.

but there are others who choose to stand alone, to persist in being unfettered by the raging machines around them.

my faith in the world is lost but it remains with those chosen few who still retain a will to create and resolve to fight. should they remain diligent and steadfast, they will be those who craft the future, the forerunners who raise the coming generation. and that gives me hope.

mirrors

when i go home at the day's end

there is a test i must pass

a reflection of what my life has amounted to

reminiscence on what i have done

there is but one question to be answered

"what will he think,

this man in the glass?"

would he be pleased?

would he approve of things i had done?

what would he say,

the man in the glass?

could he speak with pride about me?

when the sun has set

there is no one but he and i

this man who follows me about

watching my every move

it is he i must live with

and he alone, this man in the glass

before i can sleep

there is one final test i must pass

when i see him, the man in the glass

can i look him in the eye?