Life on the Outside

Drop you remember the original (Will & Tommy) \”Men in Black\” movie? As the credits were about to roll, you saw the camera pan back from the city to the clouds, to the planet, to the universe, to a marble on the ground. And this marble is picked up by an alien entity, and dropped into a bag of other marbles.

I remember leaving the theatre and expounding on how in a drop of water, there are millions of living entities, and how we could be in some random drop of water that could dry up and disappear without a moment\’s notice.

Okay, my mind can be a scary place…

But the truth is, all of us are born into a water bubble, a rain drop. Our own little universe.

In the beginning, this bubble is meant to protect you as we learn about the world. It is meant to be nurtured and tended to by your parents extended family.

As a child, you spend each day peering out from this bubble. You see the beautiful colors of the outside world. The different sounds and scents.  Your innate curiosity wants to venture outside of your protective shell and absorb all you can. But your are still too young. The immensity of it all would overwhelm you. So you wait for your time to break free.

As time passes, friends enter your life. Symmetry attracts them and binds them to you. It strengthens the protective coating of your bubble, while you continue to learn. But this can sometimes block or filter your view of the outside world.

Years pass, and the film on your bubble grows thicker… cloudier. You feel like it may be time to break free of this sphere, it has become impossible to peer out from, let alone to burst the exterior. Everything you see outside is warped, dark.  You long to see the colors you once saw. Were they even real? As your inner strength begins to atrophy, you opt to adapt to what your bubble has become. It seems comfortable enough. What harm could there be… and somewhere along the way, the unknown changed from being an adventure to being a frightening alternative.

The air in your bubble begins grows toxic. No fresh O2… any ventilation to the outside world is blocked by the variety of bubbles that have joined with yours. The tainted air can only pass from one bubble to another. You are buried deeper and deeper into a cloud of despair. It grows dimmer with each day.

The colors you once saw are completely lost. All you see is reflections of yourself, your thoughts, your views. There is no world beyond what you see, and if there is, the last vision you can remember is warped and ugly. That outside, unknown world can only hurt you. Fear is the final layer of film on the bubble, that once once meant to protect you, and is now your prison.

And now a word from those of us outside the bubble.

That world you saw in your childhood… filled with brilliant colors, soul-lifting sounds and heavenly scents… it does exist. It was real.

That world is a blend of all those that have burst free of their bubbles, and are living a life full of adventure and learning. Accepting that each of us has a different perspective, and that we can all learn from these different views, that we can all grow from them. They even have the ability to make us a more fulfilling version of our selves.

Yes, we see the shadows of the rainclouds of those living in fear. We are not living in ignorance. They frighten us, and sadden us. We remember what it was like to live like that, and how blessed we are to have escaped to the beauty of the outside world. To have the ability to look at another person that may not be the reflection of ourselves, and to feel excitement, not trepidation.

We also know, that for whatever reason, you are not yet ready to break free of that world. But we all have hope that you will.

Please know we are out here. Our hands reach out to help you escape. If you need us, we are here. Just ask.

Occasionally when we reach out, we get pulled back into that dark cloud. Eventually we make our way back out, and we share what we have learned, in hopes that in might trigger the moment for you to break free. Maybe not today, but someday. You see, we live in a hopeful place… we can\’t help but feel that way.

That is where I am at in my journey right now. I have been in the abyss for a while now, and I feel the sunshine on my face again.

And it feels good.