Fate has a way of taking over a life without warning. One never seems to know when destiny has arrived until it is too late to change courses. For some, that's a good thing. Fate scoops those lucky ones up, holds them close forever, steers the course and finally, fate delivers the chosen safely home to Jesus. Those of us who get off course are the lonely ones. Somewhere along the way we lose ourselves. We don't even remember who we were in the beginning, because we have let those around us take over. We just tend to wander aimlessly through time in a reactive state.
I have talked with people from all walks of life. I know the very successful, the people who flew in the Concord when it was still in the skies, the CEO's of the Fortune 500 companies, lawyers in the most successful firms, Hollywood directors, political giants and I also know the people who wander the streets and those who live in mental institutions most of their lives. I am most comfortable with the latter, perhaps because I could have been a part of that world. It would be appropriate to say "but for the grace of God," but I don't believe God's grace dictates tragic lives for some and happiness for others. It's not God's fault some of us wander away. When we lose ourselves in the process of living, we don't have a lot of survival choices left. You can go with the emotional pain and let someone somewhere stamp your file with a label and live amongst the downtrodden. Or you numb your feelings with alcohol and drink yourself into oblivion. Or you can become a workaholic and your job becomes your lover.
It is very hard to tell whether the mentally ill, the alcoholics or the workaholics are the saddest. From the outside looking in, the mentally ill laugh, eat and believe it or not, most are a lot more comfortable hiding behind the walls of crazy than trying to deal with the harsh expectations of the world around them. They may be the most sensitive. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall inherit the earth," God said. There are a million interpretations for that, but I believe it means these gentle loving people who roam the streets of America and cause heads to turn...some to stare at them and others to look away, are God's people. The emotional pain is so severe and the soul is just too gentle to fight anymore.
On the other hand, the workaholics use their job to keep the mind busy. A busy mind doesn't have time to think about what has been lost along the way. If you don't take the time to think about it, you can kid yourself into believing it never existed in the first place. We just go about our day meeting every responsibility in such a way it becomes a need for us. We are going to be the best at everything. We don't feel anymore. We become robotic in nature. We can meet all of the expectations of others. We no longer have control of our destiny, because we don't even exist as an individual. We belong to others. We are owned by our businesses, our employees, our families, the public and by all who for some reason, are drawn to us. We look real, and we can even convince ourselves we are living, but in reality, our life is an illusion. You have to look deep into the eyes to see the souls of these people.
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