Everywhere I go, I see scars of industry, economy, culture, and the general lust for what could be. There are listless youth with nothing to do, there are burnt out elders who scowl at the world, and there are middle-somethings milling about, all running headlong toward the same cliffs of oblivion.
I wake, I pedal, I eat, I pedal, I sleep. Whenever there are people hanging out, I stop to chat. Most of the time I get nothing more than some small talk and wonder at the fact I'm riding my bike...but this is not what I seek. I want the reeeall thing. I want to get down to what's in their hearts, what they want to do, how they want to do it, what the fuck their dreams are!
But this is what I have seen thus far. People are in an endless dream of waiting. Waiting for someone to come along and gift them the magic that they may not even be asking for. Last night in Boise City, OK I met a group of High School girls who all worked at the local grocery. After getting them jazzed up on the prospect of something cool and creative happening in their town, I asked them a hypothetical question of "If someone handed you $10,000 dollars tonight, just because you're a good-hearted person, what would you do?" This question stumped all of them. One girl suggested she might travel to the Northwest, and when I told her she would have $9,600 left, she couldn't tell me what she would do with the rest.
I don't think this is because they were on the spot, or it is a broad question to ask, or even that they lack the answer. What I am coming to see is that there is an epidemic of broken spirits in this country. I can't speak for the world, but I imagine the globe is experiencing a similar outbreak of spiritlessness. As Chico, the Lawyer Warrior of Las Vegas, NM said, "There is a spiritual battle going on right now." Well, Chico, fuck yes there is. There is a deliberate attempt, not accidental, to break the spirits of people on Earth to subject them to unrelenting capital slavery.
This will not come as a surprise or even a new idea for most, but if you're not hip to it, then get hip real quick. And if you are hip then hear me now: This is the time to ignite the element of your spirit where your power resides. For me, the Wind brings me power. I create enough Fire for a few, and the Wind just fans those flames. I'm grateful to have Water and Earth around me always to bring me back and keep me steady, but I know where my power lies. It is in creation, inspiration, and change.
Why is it important for you to ignite the spiritual flame within you? Because your future and the future of all beings depends on you getting free. If one of us is chained, all of us are chained. But if you can break the chains of one, then that makes you a little more free in the process.
I don't have the script for how you can do this. I don't really have any methods, because they will all be unique to your journey, but what I can suggest is that if you know any young people, inspire the hell out of them. This doesn't happen by words either. This happens by deeds. Do something to make a young person's life brighter and more hopeful and you make us all more free. Try it and see if i'm bullshitting with you.
For the truth is, if you're reading this, you're probably in or around the age of 30 and the time for you to be passing the torch is coming up. Don't hold it like the generations who came before, pass it off to those who you have given the tools of creativity, love, and spirit to.
I'm writing this from Elkhart, KS right now. A place with hopelessness in its streets. Don't let the world die just because you didn't know how to live.
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