Nearing a New Year...

For several hours, I've sat amongst nobodies.  Fellow drinkers in a tiny pub with none other than ourselves to share the eve of Christmas.  Normally, I'd have thought ourselves as pathetic.  No one to care.  No one that missed our presence at a holiday gathering.  We, the alienated, trading a shot of liquor or draft of ale, to foster a point of belonging. 

Ironically, amongst these stangers I have found friends.  Kindred spirits collected for the moment of shared experience.

There wer a few who were seeking companionship - dismissed by others as needy.  Others wished only for an ear to bear witness to the trials endured  - not expecting to be understood.  Where was I?  I was one of those listening yet detached from the drama.  I have my own issues, but they are mine alone.

Christmas is a troubling holiday.  For most, it is a time of sharing.  A time with family and friends where we could share the year's experience and grow.  Sadly, this does not apply to most of us.  Most see the holiday as place marker of our shortcomings.

One year ago, l was barely getting by at a thankless job.  I was writing and creating art while away from home five days at a time. My future was filled with barely getting by and striving for better.

Now, I am still struggling to get by.  I am away from home three to four weeks at a time.  I am still writing and creating art, but greatly hindered by the need to provide for my home.  This is not a factor of resentment, yet I am stained to find a point to my efforts.

I sought compatriots in my dilemma yet found only individuals who were just as lost as myself.  So many people with dreams and inspiring ambitions, yet stuck within a cycle of perpetual dismissal and no form of support system.  One night at the bar and I observed more than a dozen people with amazing ideas that would amount to nothing because there is no means to progress beyond thought.  There is nobody willing to pursue a dream. 

I am stuck looking at a world without hope.  We used to be innovators.  We used to embrace advancement.  Now... we are sheep in a society that rewards the most profitable, regardless of the ideas that would truly benefit the world.  If an idea lacks the potential of high profit, it is ignored.  Ideas that aim to better society are taboo.

It is the eve of Christmas and it is supposed to be a time of hope.  I really wish I had hope.  I really could use some hope right now.  Instead, I am stuck with reality.  We have stalled.  Our society; our belief systems; our values.  It's all worthless.  We have have become so complacent that we refuse to even try bettering the world around us.  We have grown to believe that we are powerless and as such, we have become insignificant.  We live in the era of money and entitlement.  This is the Age of the Established.

We have allowed the current society to take hold, but it is a society that cannot last.  There is no need for violent rebellion.  No need for a rebellious coup.  The greatest act anyone can take is through creating and dreaming. 

It is hard to imagine a world beyond the petty shortcomings of today's society, but imagination is the only weapon capable of changing our future.

Write.  Draw.  Design.  Dream.

We can make a better tomorrow.