Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Lest we live no life at all

It is times like this where superhero powers would serve not only as an extra accessory on the super belt--they would serve as an ultimate means of escape. These nights spent gazing out the giant windows of a down town coffee shop lead my wandering eyes up to the towering heights of skyscrapers--why cant I fly up to them? In a moment I imagine myself standing on the highest point of the tallest building in town--I am fearlessly leaning over the edge of the 80 story building with only one arm extended holding onto a lightning tower on my precarious perch. I look down on the streets below and feel compassion for my not-so-super-powerfully-gifted companions below. They, constrained by gravity and fear will never understand the true meaning of freedom and independence. Stuck in an oppressive system where they are required to barter precious hours of their lives for green pieces of paper that they believe have value. I wonder if its too harsh to say that they sadden me--its just that they resemble a busy ant colony or rat infestation--always going to and fro living out their dirty and hustled lives. They really have nothing to live for.

Looking down on the city from above I let go of my lightning rod and fall head first toward the street below; I close my eyes and grin before spreading my arms and feeling the g-forces enacting upon my body as I invert my decent and head straight for the starry skies above. The wind rushes through my hair and makes waves on my fluttering shirt and shorts--I continue my corkscrew ascent until the city is but a speck of light far below. Then I stop for a moment in the air. Where should I go? Ah yes, to the dessert. To Saudi Arabia, haven’t been there yet. I head straight for the ocean getting lower every minute until I am one foot above it--the wind from my body creates a concavity on the ocean water and kicks up spray all about.

Yes. Times like this when I stare out of a coffee shop window at night I regret being a mere human. The fact is, the closest I have come to having super powers was that one time I went off a ski jump and got 10 feet of air...and that one time I rappelled off a cliff with a plastic rope wrapped around my hand and didn't die--not a very impressive super-human resume. But wouldn't it be nice to know that there is something so completely different about you; some galactic secret known only by yourself that makes you stand out from the billions of people on this sphere. This just to have justifiable proof that you are unique, that there is no one like you. And those times that you feel like escaping to another planet, those times when your world gets too small and cumbersome, you just jump into the sky and go wherever you want. Independence, freedom, and cosmic uniqueness. No matter what people say, you are different, and that inner belief makes you strong.

So what do you do when you are proven completely average? There is no experience unique to you that have not been experienced by a large portion of society. Then what? Do you simply ingest your fate so fed to you by society, media, and friends? Do you lower your honor to the expectations of these sources of identity? We, being common humans seek camaraderie and acceptance from like-kind, so do we submit ourselves to the expectations of those whom expect, or are we internally motivated to be unique. It is important to remember that history easily forgets those conformant to societal expectations and cultural norms; while it immortalizes those persons who's relentless battle to change the world come to fruition as a result of their efforts--for better or worse. And so, as persons without super powers we must persist to live for a cause greater than ourselves, to be unique in this world of faces and numbers. I fear that if we do not we shall be swept away in the sea of history and die as one insignificant drop in an ocean of humanity. No, to live rightly, nigh die rightly, we must live for a cause worth dying for, a purpose bigger than ourselves.

Life must be lived for a cause worth dying for-lest we live no life at all.

5 comments:

Béthany said...

Love: love is able to separate you from the stunted masses, from the everyday experience of humanity, from the averageness of never doing anything unique. If you can love, you can soar, superhuman-like, above the buildings and through the sky.
Love is the only cause I can think of worth dying for... I would die for those and that which I love. I would not die to defeat things I hate, or to win wars of a political nature. But I would die for the person I love.

Pamela Joy said...

This is cool, I haven't checked your blog in weeks and here I catch you on the very day you post. this is nice work. I might share it with a friend or two.

luke said...

i don't know. it seems to make sense, what with it's cleverly written bits and very neat syntax throughout, but i just don't know. you're right, though. i think. maybe.

roberry said...

you ARE a superhero.

we are all superheroes, we all have the ability to change the world for better (isn't that what superheroes do?)... only most people don't believe they are. every superhero story starts with the hero realizing his true identity. until they realize who they are they're useless in the epic battles of right and wrong.

but some may say if we're all superheroes then doesn't superhero-ness become status quo? hardly. no two superheroes are the same ever. no hero will interact with the world quite like anyone else. no hero has the exact mix of strengths and weaknesses, faults and incredible gifts.

a billion people may stare at a city scene yet no one will see exactly what you see... no one else will have thoughts exactly like yours, no one else will come to the precise conclusions that you come too. every superhero is completely unique and has a role to play with in the world that only they can play.

but it is what a hero does within the world he sees around him that judges him; how he responds to it, who he helps or if he helps at all.

the world and everything in it waits in breathless suspense to see if humanity will realize the power they have been given.

the power to change the world.

the power to be a superhero.

Unknown said...

I was there.