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The more than 1000 comments on this story have been fairly interesting (to say the least). The following are my own comments.
This story makes an attempt to show that there are things worth believing in, suffering for; living and dying for. Human history bears witness to this fact in abundance. Many people who have felt their convictions to the soul have become legends. They're people who died for their beliefs, sacrificed for their chosen causes, and those who followed them. In the larger scheme, those causes blur into history, distilling the crucial factor: belief.
The human heart must believe in something.
It doesn't have to be a grand, sweeping cause. It doesn't have to be a "change the world" issue. It can be as simple as believing in what your heart tells you, which, paradoxically, can be the most difficult belief of all, as it can become very ambiguous and misleading.
This is a world of more than 6 billion people. 6 billion souls who spend much of their time asking the same questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What do I really want, need? What do I believe, and what is the truth?
No doubt familiar. They've been common questions throughout history, and all of them have an answer. But life itself obscures those answers by default, and people become lost. They stop listening to their hearts, and start listening to their fears, falling into despair, isolation, and most destructive to the soul, apathy.
There will be a time in every life (sometimes several), a critical time, where pain, or confusion runs rampant, and balance seems impossible.
About this time, someone may find you.
These people are a gift, accept them graciously, and listen. Not with your ears, you must listen with something better,...your heart. They make this easier than it sounds, because it's the language they speak. They have the answers, but you must learn not only to ask the questions, but to overcome your fear of the answers. They can help with all of that, if you let them.
That person may already be in your life.
How do you know?
Look for the one who seems somehow out of place everywhere, yet is comfortable anywhere. The one who can talk to anyone about anything, and seems to understand everything. They're the soft-spoken, quiet, reserved people with a remarkable calming effect, especially in their touch. You can tell them anything, things you've never told anyone else,...ever, and they make you feel comfortable doing it. They have a quick-wit, and impeccable timing. They have answers before you have questions, and always seem to say the right thing at the right time. They have a way of making a complex situation sound surprisingly simple, and can always offer unique perspectives. They have a wisdom far beyond their years, and they inspire trust even where trust is difficult.
You may feel them when they aren't there, and not feel them when they are. People react to them in widely varying ways, children are especially receptive, they see with their hearts. These people place little value on possessions and personal success, but consider humanity priceless.
Most people are familiar with the axiom, "the eyes are the windows to the soul". This is the truth in many ways. But again, you must learn to see with better eyes. Look into their eyes, beyond the surface, stare if you have to (they won't mind), but relax. If you have a sudden sensation of falling, chills, breathe faster, or become unusually aware of your own heart beat,...you've found that person. Some windows look out across the infinite, it's a big jump. You may not see it at first, but if it's there, you will.
All they require of you is one thing: faith. It isn't about religion, it's about the most basic expression of faith,...acceptance.
We accept the fact that the world is an increasingly violent place, that the earth itself is dying beneath our feet, and that there is far too little compassion among humanity.
We accept these things because they are.
Accept these people,...because they are. If you don't think you need them, think again. They come to you because they know you do.
They won't accept you for who you think you are, or who others think you are, but for who you truly are,...they know, even if you haven't figured it out yet.
On the surface, this may sound somewhat frightening. But rest assured, you're safer with any one of these people than with anyone you'll ever know,...perhaps more comfortable as well. It's who they are, and it's what they do.
~Truth requires no faith, and faith requires no truth,
...neither require proof~
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