Entry #5 - Suspended in Motion

Suspended in Motion I only learned how to bike a ride less than a year ago. For someone nearing her mid teens, that was shameful. How could a fourteen-year-old girl not learn the most basic skill? The thing was, when I was younger, I was afraid of falling off. I didn’t want to get hurt, nor did I want to scrape my knees and have my grandfather scold me for being clumsy and careless.

In short, back then, I didn’t want to fail.

Even up to now, I still refuse to face failure, the same way I try to keep up with the world, not wanting to get left behind. Failing is not an option, nor is it a choice. In a society where children, adult – everyone are forced to bend to the conventional standards to be considered normal, beautiful, or talented, slipping off that high wire is one’s greatest fear.

I know this because it is also mine though in my heart – In my heart, I know it should not be the case. We shouldn’t be afraid of slipping.

After all, when we do fall, it is in the learning on how to pick ourselves from the ground do we know the importance of life and the blessings bestowed upon us by God. We can’t keep living like this; we can’t stay in our shadow of diffidence. In the same way, we can’t keep on punishing ourselves and the younger generation for things we have no control over.

We have to adjust to the world lying beneath our feet. We have to bring the change we want to see. We have to accept things as they are and just pray with all we have that everything will turn out fine.

We have to start understanding people from different walks of life. By doing so, we have a deeper perspective of their strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. This will reflect an even greater progress. No area of the society would be left behind. We would not have to deal with the deaths of cultures and civilizations.

In the same way, it starts with the youth. They have this power no adults have, for they have lost it as they fought their way to survival. The youth are innocent. They’re free from any of the world’s problems, any of the things that could cause them to harbor hate.

Isn’t that why Jesus said we have to be like children to enter His kingdom? We have to keep even the slightest of our innocence and of our faith to keep on moving forward.

If the youth are given the assurance that they’ll be accepted for what they are, regardless of their race, color, religion, physical appearance, and Goliaths, they could be the catalyst for a revolution that would light the sky on fire to give hope for all those who are left.

But how exactly could we change from a society filled with stereotypes to a society where love and concern reigns over hate and fear? But how could we continuously assure that a culture of acceptance would live on, and it wouldn’t just be an idea of – of the hopeless, of the naïve?

It’s just the same as asking how dead could someone be to be considered alive and how much more life is there left in a person when he is considered dead? The answers are as indefinite as defining what good is in a world where even morals are questioned. It as vague as asking as to how God had created the whole universe by just snapping His fingers. Even if we cannot fully explain what it truly is, we know the reason for it and why it continues to happen.

In the same way that the reason for our creation is love, the only solution to our society’s illness is acceptance and respect. We have to accept the fact that we are all different from one another. Not everyone is as athletic as the ‘jock’, nor is everyone as artistic as da Vinci’s apprentice; however, we have other things to cling on.

Everyone’s created as special as the other. We just have to learn how to accept and respect. Accept that no one’s a clone. Accept that we are all different individuals. We can be different without alienating ourselves from the rest.

We merely have to let our true colors shine bright. Confucius had based most of his analects on the belief that human beings are innately good. Using this as basis, if we act who we really are without the fear of letting go, we are good – we could be the best we could be. We just have to open our arms and embrace more people for what they are.

Imagine our progress if we continuously let our own talents flourish! Imagine a world where people help each other to improve their respective strengths and weaknesses!

In that way, no one has to be afraid. We could be the best version of ourselves.

We could be comfortable in our own skins. We don’t have to shake as we cross the high wire. We don’t have to be scared when it feels like the world is spinning out of control.

We can just remember the bits and pieces of who we are, and no matter how terrifying a situation seems, whether it is riding a bike or trying to keep one’s balance, no matter how many times we fall, we will succeed, all alongAll along feeling the wind whisper God’s words of love while we stay suspended in motion.