Fighting Barbarians From The Shadows
Because We fight you from the shadows, where you dwell most.
What will become of this new civilization that those of us who want equilibrium for the oppressed now? We’ve fought wars between nations. We’ve fought wars over the color of our skin. Over our beliefs and religions. All these physical things that bind us to this world, we’ve fought for. We’ve even fought wars over men and women – and now other genders. And always it seems, we’re fighting against barbarians from the shadows.
But now we take the battle to you. We’ll not run from the shadows anymore. We look into our own selves and see the pain and suffering we have and we bring it out into the sunlight. We wish only to redefine ourselves in that glorious light – the light of self-awareness. And so no longer do we fear the vicious things in the shadows. Not enough to run from them any longer.
Take your demons and devices of evil and bring them out! Talk about them, show them to others. You will be surprised to find love waiting for you. Patience and understanding. We know many of you rot at your cores with hatred for yourself, being told you are not beautiful enough, or that you need only to change to belong again. Being told not to listen to yourself when it yearns to be free.
We know these things because so very many of us were once like you. But we’re not ‘better’, let alone better for you. We’re not ‘cleaner’ or ‘more good’, any more than you want to believe you are or can be. And we’re far from perfect. But here’s the thing you may not know can bring such joy: we revel in our imperfections, our flaws and yes, even our demons.
For overcoming them gives us strength. Resilience to our purpose. And yet, with all this talk, our purpose is simply to love and laugh and enjoy life. We bring so many new combinations of colors to life with our imaginings. But that doesn’t make us special – not the imagination – it’s that we make it happen. You know how to do this. We trust you know, because as much as you may rally against change and a dawning civilization where everyone is treated with respect not just for being different but for being exactly who they want to be, you will always have a creative spark inside you.
Use your spark to ignite your passions and become your true self. Shine there in the darkness if you must, but know that being out in the light of day is just as glorious. And being seen, heard and witnessed while witnessing others is a gift beyond imagination.
Just know this. Time and again history shows that the barbarians – those afraid of change and compromise in order to share knowledge with others – are the ones left in the cold. Will you move with us into the future and be on the “right side” of history, or be swept away like the hordes of old, too primitive to understand society’s embracing of more glorious futures of love and understanding?