Ahmad Al Charif

This article is the second part of a collaboration project between myself and Kendall F. Person. My contribution is in blue.

People appear to be in denial these days, on a number of things.

First things first, a lot of people are constantly trying to convince themselves that they are happy, when they are not. How do i know this?

Happy people do not have trouble sleeping, or enjoying the simpler things in life. They laugh wholeheartedly, with their belly jiggling. Happy people do not spend hours if not weeks and months, trying to rationalize in their head why they should be happy, they just know.

Happiness, is felt from the inside out. It surges through our veins effortlessly, like a sweet, soft melody. over drowning those same hassles and fears; others struggle with on a daily basis, rendering them powerless.

So what happens when you live in denial? when you are consistently trying to force yourself to believe something, which in your heart you know to be a lie? Your mind starts to play tricks on you, your logic becomes twisted, and you start to feel ill.

Only it is not a physical illness, it is not something you can try to remedy with a magic pill. And this is the second thing people are in denial about: Not every problem can be handled by an external expert. When it comes to matters of your own mind, you yourself need to grab hold of your life, and take charge. Because the risks, are far too high to do otherwise:

The massive up-rise of drug addiction; and the endless variety of products it has spawned, crime; and the many creative ways it has been slowly creeping up and becoming more and more embedded into our societies, physical and mental illness; as science continues to label and attempt to treat more and more symptoms, and finally the highest risk of all in extreme cases, suicide.

These are all mere symptoms of a great illness that has been slowly but surely picking up pace, infecting us while we desperately attempt to do everything but what we should be: Calling it what it is.

It is crazy, that people are dying of starvation in some parts of the world, while in others people are eating gold pills so that their poop shines (oh yes, this is real).

It is crazy that with all the advanced technology and breakthroughs science is achieving everyday, we insist on destroying the only planet we live in. Simply because the “green” alternative is more of a hassle.

But most of all, it is insane for you to go on another single day of being miserable; rather than map out an intricate plan towards true happiness, for the sake of “reputation”, “obligations”, “responsibility” and any other self righteous junk you keep feeding yourself. Nothing is getting in the way, but yourself.

The first step, towards overcoming any problem is to acknowledge that you have it to begin with. Only then may you move forward, in figuring out treatment plans, and assessing your options. It might not be easy, but when there is a will, there is Always a way.

Many physical illnesses, that once upon a time harvested lives are now curable, yet left uncovered the outcome becomes disastrous.

Same goes for illness of the mind. The more you let it soak, the more you try to bury it, the more it infects you from within, spreading like a cancer, taking over completely one small bit at a time.

But this is not a simple illness of one individual. The human race; if inspected as a single unit, is the one known element in this world, that is acting out of balance. Wreaking havoc and chaos wherever it steps foot.

Are we supposed to be living like this? To be so dis-concerned with everything that should – and that once upon a time did – matter?

I do not claim to have the answers. But i aim to pose one simple question:

What is humanity about?

Thirtyfour by ascendingstorm

Maxine Long, with her two kids in tow, was the first to pull into the parking lot of the house of worship. Robin, her daughter and the eldest, was still trying to get her younger brother, Jimmy to smile. Robin could not understand why her mother made no attempts to cheer Jimmy’s spirits or even inquire about his black eye and busted lips. Instead, she ranted and raved about how, “The gays are destroying the family. If they are allowed to marry, that will be the end of days!” But Robin knew who had done this to her brother, and to her knowledge, Willie and Jonathan Pritchard were not gay, but tormented her brother because he was. And to listen to his own mother go on and on, about the sinful nature of the sodomites, sunk Jimmy deeper into depression of which he would never recover. His eyes began to lose focus and while his heart maintained its normal rhythm, little Jimmy Long, at that moment, realized he was actually dead.

Roshelle Bouvie roared into the parking lot next. Slamming on the brakes did not prevent her from crashing into an old oak tree. The deployment of the airbag kept her from flying through the windshield, but filling with air at 200 miles per hour, knocked her head against the seat’s headrest, knocking her unconscious, giving Robert Long time to develop his excuse. Their torrent affair had gone much longer than expected. Robert made promises to Roshelle that he would leave his wife, but the right moment never seem to appear. When he rolled out of bed after a night of making love, rather it was the right time or not, Roshelle was going to tell his wife. It was Sunday morning and the entire town would be headed to church. She had begin to feel guilt for sitting in the pews in the house of worship, all the while, she was committing a cardinal sin. But her love for Robert could not be ignored, and with sanity taking a backseat, she decided to confess, not just to his wife, but to the entire town during confessional. Robert pulled in behind the crashed car. The sound of the impact stirred both Maxine and her daughter, but did little to divert Jimmy from death’s door.

The night before the monumental day, the pastor of the town’s house of worship knelt down on both knees. He asked his God what did he want from him. To send him a sign and guide him in the direction he was supposed to lead his congregation in. He had accepted the lease from the Muslims. Not without hesitation, but because he felt it was the right thing to do. Perhaps, he thought, this was a sign that once under the same roof, he could convert the practitioners of Islam, so that they too would know the true word of God. He believed a union was meant to be between a man and a woman, but times were changing, and he truly believed, that once under his guidance, the misguided gays would soon come to accept their matrimony, while recognized by the state, was an abomination under God’s Law, and he could guide them to safety. As he finished his prayer, no more wise than before he started, lightning brightened the darken sky and the pastor, a man with good intentions but still just a man, would take that as a sign.

John Peters and his family pulled into the lot next. They saw the wrecked car, and John’s irrational behavior morphed into paranoia. He began to yell, “Those Muslims! What have they done?!”  He would throw his car into park and jump out and screamed at his family “Run!” The Peters raced inside of the house of worship, not stopping to attend to the injured, believing in their minds, the Muslims were out to get them. The caravan of Muslim worshipers and the two wedding parties, pulled into the church about the same time, along with several other cars, filled with parishioners, all with their own minds. Some heard John’s shouts, and mass hysteria would take hold. As half of the congregation would race inside and the other half would stand down.

The flamboyant wedding party caught Maxine’s eye. Jimmy sat in the car, staring out in space, all but dead inside. Robin grabbed her mother’s arm and screamed, “Something’s the matter with Jimmy! Help him Mother, he won’t get out of the car!” Maxine turned and looked at her child and for the very first time she noticed the bruises on his face, the scars and black eyes. Tears begin to swell, but she refused to let them fall.  The righteous ones had warned them of the coming disaster that if gays were allowed to marry, it would tear their families apart. “They did this to him,” she said to herself. Then madness overcame her and she charged the bewildered wedding parties, howling like a wolf.

The pastor and his wife walked out from his study and into the lion’s den. Pandemonium had erupted and chaos reigned from within. He and his wife, both remained calm. They had hoped the day would be smooth, that all would pray under one roof and eventually, all would worship one God. But he remained calm, not because he was disconnected or a deer in the headlights, but because he had interpreted the lightning as a sign of what had to be done.

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Final installment will be out March 25th, concluding The Depths of Crazy.

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Copyright
All rights reserved,
Kendall F. Person © (August 2012 – present)
Ahmad Al Charif © (June 2012 – Present)