(Part 1 of 3)
“…All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?…” —Eleanor Rigby, Lennon-McCartney
STORIES make up the fabric of human life. Each life story is one thread in this vast cosmic tapestry of billions of stories all of humanity is weaving from one generation to the next.
We are born in this world with our own unique set of circumstances. We like to believe that each of us is created for a purpose wired into our DNA, like a GPS directing us to a destination — a state of being — whatever that may be.
In the age old fairy tale of “Sleeping Beauty,” Princess Aurora’s life was protected by Three Good Fairies: Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. They have gifted her and her Prince Charming with the weapons to fight off the evil of the villainess, Maleficent.
In real life, from princes to paupers, most people like to think that they too have been given gifts that serve as shining weapons when they do go through those dark periods in every season of life. The darkness can range from just being lonely and isolated for periods of time to the more extreme and detrimental negative emotions that drive people to insanity or worse, to suicide.
We want to have those weapons to deal with those inner struggles in order to do battle with deep, dark depression and fend off those eerie voices that urge the afflicted to inflict self-harm or even worse, to kill others as well.
We would like to become courageous, even bold, as we come out swinging with our blessed swords slaying our dragons every time they rear their ugly heads. Until finally at the end of all earthly struggles, we become happy and content as we stride off into the sunset, victorious and fulfilled. Well, there you have it. There’s that happily-ever-after ending to the life stories we seek.
Alas! How we wish most of life’s stories end happily. These days, instead of happily ever after endings, we have sad stories, cautionary tales, even horror stories to drive us out of our wits’ end. It’s like being trapped in our seats, strapped tight, in the Theatre of the Macabre and watching grim Tim Burton stories unfolding onscreen on repeat mode.
What is causing all this darkness, all this loneliness that seems to affect so many people in the world today? You scratch your head and wonder who let those rabid monstrous creatures out from the gates of hell? It seems the gates are wide open, unleashing all the evils that can be conjured from a witch’s brew simmering in a big black cauldron. All the evils are unleashed from Pandora’s box with just one thing left at the bottom of the box — HOPE.
There is an onslaught of overwhelming assaults that come in all forms from just everywhere, facilitated by the startling phenomenon of social media and the ease of anything going viral through the internet. This warped, perverse world we live in today seems to delight in mischief and mayhem.
(Continued next week …)
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Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail [email protected]
