People don’t like the word ‘impossible.’ They consider it too insensitive, a mountain too high to climb, something most can’t do. They nod to themselves, in silent agreement, that since the majority are doing the same things, they might as well ignore any possibility except one; the worst scenario.

There is this notion that if you sit back, things will happen.

Change is something which occurs moment by moment after all, but what are you waiting for? The clock is ticking. You’re going to die soon. An accident isn’t far off — a murder, a car crash, legs broken from falling down stairs. What if you died tomorrow? Nothing is impossible. Then you decide it isn’t worth staying here. Heaven is a better place. Everyone who matters is up there. There, you don’t need to struggle. There, all you have to do is stay put and let God take care of you. There, nothing changes.

Eons pass and boredom becomes your partner. Above the clouds, you watch those below, much like someone glued to the silver screen. All you do now is wait.

Wait until another sunset sinks over the horizon. Wait until the sky is blue no more and smoke and fog are so thick, breathing becomes a chore. Wait until the apocalypse comes so you wouldn’t feel responsible and console yourself that “all things come to an end” and laugh at those who fought to the bitter end even if their battle is pyrrhic. Wait until your mind snaps and your body ceases to function. Congratulations, you got your wish.

Dead before your time, you roam these lands disconnected and lost, offering no solace or love or kindness. Confused and abandoned, you hide behind molded rocks which ruin the environment out of some misplaced monetary investment. You are here. Stand up. Speak. Our words bind us together. Our hearts can still recover. We are connected by threads, by differences and by nature. This is our home. It’s all we have. Yet we sit by in the sidelines, hoping for leaders to take charge. This isn’t how we used to be.

Before humankind began, we were explorers. Pacific Islanders braved storms and traveled across thousands of miles of ocean, all using a single boat made out of brittle coconut woods and only the north star to guide their way over vast endless ocean. Vikings voyaged across seas, through fog and harsh hailstorms. Arabs traveled through the deserts fighting drought and enemies in horses and camels. We were brave. We respected nature. We celebrated freedom and self-expression. Now both are being destroyed, not being cared enough for. All that’s left is fear, practiced, encouraged and sold and bought by unsuspecting victims getting murdered by rage, longing, desire, despair. Our oppression strangles us. We lead lives that don’t make sense, selling our time for people who don’t care for us, who sell poisonous substances disguised as food and pleasure-fulfilling activities made enticing through lies upon lies thrown at us without consent from ads, friends and society itself.

The wheel keeps spinning, perpetuating suffering to the unsuspecting, rendered mute by censorship, God and law yet feel deep down something is not right, something is wrong. Rape, violence and murder still occur on a regular basis in ghettos and random streets. Women are still treated as sub-human by oppressive patriarchal machinations. Fingers are still pointed at imagined people for the protection of the powerful with fragile egos. Media continues lying at our gullible faces. Politics is now mere spectacle. Wars, a cover for greed — governments and corporations, their sponsors.

Here, in our homes, they don’t know we’re struggling. Despite the endless suicides, victims are still treated as footnotes on statistics, errors attributed and blamed on their lifestyle choices as if one can choose which class he or she is born into. Abandoned by a suffocating system built for the suppression of talent and promotion of mediocrity, it rewards followers alongside insanity, signaling repressed rage, bright and burning furiously for someone to find an ounce of humanity. Wake up. The times are changing. The past is but ashes, nostalgia substituting for ignorance so things remain with the illusion of tolerance, instead of trying acceptance. Pushing forward divided, the future would look bleak and misguided to eyes close to flights of fantasy and imagine all possibilities. You see, nothing is fixed, nothing is broken. Moments come, then they pass. Don’t let them slip past. Grab your tools and disregard, noises filled with jaded scars. There’s still time to reclaim what we should’ve learned from repeated shame. But our prides aren’t soft masks. Prying them loose takes time, effort and understanding.

But the countdown is long past due. Excuses are running out. Turning a blind eye can no longer be hidden. This is the age of technology. There is little to no privacy. Problems are sprouting faster than solutions can be implemented. Nervous tension is alive, wreaking havoc and chaos, spreading discord, burning bridges, interfering with doubts, amplifying it, believing it, promoting it. Then it turns out wrong. Another idea creeps in. Something worse. Paranoia becomes normal. Risks minimized. Dreams become smaller. Adventure now tastes sour. Then everything becomes dark. You see no point. The world can’t be saved. Denial becomes your master. Escape becomes a bullet to the head. Finally, rock bottom. Then you hesitate. You breathe. You relax. You look around from behind window curtains. See strangers walking across streets, too busy, too rigid, too inflexible. Zombies-in-training, products of their cities. Pale shadows silent as graves. Suddenly, an idea. You are here. You saved yourself. You took the harder path. A blessing in disguise. It toughened you. You saw through the fascism, the blind faith, the extreme fundamentalism. You survived. Your life doesn’t belong to you anymore.

People change. They transform. Experiences shatter us. But it is our choices which say who we are. Each day is a chance, a miracle-in-the-making way of finding within ourselves the kindness and strength we long for. The future has yet to be. In-between seconds, numerous scenarios are in an infinite dance. One act is enough to change the world, to stop the worst thing imaginable. But even by existing is itself an act of defiance. Everyone should’ve died a long time ago. Odds were always stacked against each of us. More so for others who have never felt luxury, who have, by pure will, able to surmount incredible difficulties. We underestimate our capabilities, more often than not. Inside us are worlds, stories and visions strange, familiar, scary, sad, wonderful and funny. Use them. Share your pain. Face your fear. Laugh.

Nobody fails at being themselves. We may hide and roam inside caves but walls aren’t always kind. It takes two to share, to kiss, to make love, to have fun. Boredom doesn’t exist. It’s something we conjure and get lost in. To live without mistakes is not to live at all. So stop your doubts. Act on your heart. Be spontaneous. Be unique. Make your mark. Leave a legacy. Fight for your passion. Save the world. Imagination is endless. To be alive is to have hope.