moral compass

i risk my life by living in truth. i believe in honesty and dignity. i believe in humanity and respect. i exercise my values daily, but it awakens me when i’m challenged to practice and prove them in extreme ways. would you die for your values? lose your job? lose your wife?

i can say with certainty that i would. i’d rather die with dignity than live a façade. i’ve always stuck up for the bullied, refused to be a bystander. i’ve apologized before any faults were known. i’ve made tough decisions to eliminate toxic people from my life. and by that, i don’t mean people who have made mistakes, or failed at something. i mean the people who manipulate to get ahead or are malicious to others, the people that complain about miniscule things, and refuse to see positivity or feel happiness. i love the people that struggle, because they value life, they see meaning.

there is so much beauty in darkness. passion and grief come with the same amount of rage; uncontrollable but natural. i am passionate about hope and guiding those who lack light; those who are trapped in the shadows, and fail to see a way out. i am tortured by the reality that i can’t help everyone, but i can help someone. i have found my self isolated and trapped in a reality that was so negatively powerful, that i too couldn’t see a way out; but i survived. this doesn’t mean i have all the answers. it gave me a new perspective. i spend time talking with the homeless, hearing their stories instead of looking down and ignoring their existence. i read books that aren’t on the bestseller table, because sometimes the greatest treasures haven’t been discovered. i take the long way home, admiring the sunset alone with my thoughts.

i’ve noticed that everyone talks about taking ‘the right path’ and ‘climbing the ladder’ ‘being successful’ and ‘financially stable’ and they associate these terms with happiness. truth is, there is no path. there is no certainty. there is no plan. you have a footprint; and with that the impact you decide to make is completely in your control. you have the freedom to walk where you desire, whenever you want to. your life should be free of influence and expectations. the people in your life should be completely unconditional. whether you suffer from addiction, or end up in prison, if you get fired or cheat on your loved one; these aren’t reasons for people to walk away. these are times where you challenge your values within yourself and prove that struggle is beautiful. life is completely about scars and bruises; imperfection and beauty; endurance and impact.

we all deserve moments where we feel accepted and understood. we deserve to feel betrayed and lonely. we deserve to fall in love, violently and to feel broken just the same. we deserve to grieve and feel passion. we deserve to live extraordinarily and freely. surviving. enduring. lusting.