My Lucid Reality

The ash in the air made breathing hard, the brimstone beneath my feet burned the combat boots with every step.  I was amazed that the hard rubber soles didn’t melt, but they didn’t keep the heat out either.  The sun blazed overhead with nothing but the ashen clouds to dim its searing heat.  I would say I was covered in sweat but the slightest hint of moisture in your skin was pulled from your very soul in the searing heat.  I walked towards my destination, the imps at the barrier hoped and jeered as I walked past.  They knew I had a job to do and had seen me before.

Through the ash I walked, the ground burning my feet, making the camouflage pants seer my legs with every step, fortunately I didn’t have to wear the khaki over-shirt, but the heat was no less overwhelming, the brown tee shirt was form fitting and could only absorb the heat… there truly was no release.  I teased my blond hair, thick with sun lotion, spf-80, the only kind that helped in that burning inferno.  There was one sound in the air, even with earplugs the screeching monsters roared all around, from some just a high pitch wailing, from others a roar of triumph as they shot into the sky, heartless beasts that lined the wasteland in front of me.

I approached the beast I was to prepare with care, it only had two dangerous spots, in front… and behind.  I looked it over to make sure a journey into the sky was safe for it, touching its skin burnt my hands, even through the tight leather gloves I wore.  Imaginary sweat burned my vision as I made ready.  Through the ash, fire licking at his legs and hands as he moved forward came another Mortal, the brave man who expected to take flight with this beast.  The heat fought him as hard as any of us, but as he wiped the black ash from his forehead I noticed something I hadn’t seen in a long time… he was smiling.  I tried to ignore it, I knew better than to expect that anyone could rise above the sweltering heat and the pain that this place was destined to drive through even the strongest… but as the beast began to wail and roar with life I heard his voice crackle into my mind.  I went about my work with flawless precision, ignoring the pain of the sun lotion melting into my eyes, and the extra heat the beast exhumed burning the world around me… I was entranced by what the voice had to say.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m so happy.” I wasn’t, I was doing my job, but he brought it up so I felt obliged to let him continue.  “I choose to be happy.”

“What do you mean?” I echoed through the chaos surrounding me, the air stirred by the beast causing devils to rise from the surrounding ash.

“No matter what happens to you, no matter what you’re going through… how you react to it is your choice.”  His voice made it sound like he truly believed what he was saying.  “For example, if you wake up in the morning, and step out of bed to hit your head, you can choose to let that ruin your day, or you can choose to ignore it.  Things don’t ‘make’ you anything, you choose how you will be.”  For a moment the cloud of ash overhead cracked, and in my imagination I saw a white cloud and for a moment the entire world stood still… was this what a epiphany was like?  I wasn’t very old, so I couldn’t be sure, but it was as though I could hear a giant puzzle piece falling into place.  Could he be saying that you are always in control of how you feel?

“You’re always in control of how you feel.” He said… I was stunned.  No matter what life throws at you, you have a choice in how you take it, how you deal with it.  From a fundamental standing, it makes sense.  As he and his horrible monster moved out of sight I took a moment to ponder… no matter the heat, no matter the pain, you cannot choose what happens to you always, but you can always choose how you react to it, how you let it effect you… you don’t need a reason to be happy, you can simply choose to be happy.  What a thought.  I have held it close, it is difficult to always remember, but I have found it to be very true… I choose to let the choice be mine.

There’s a quote from a movie that really should have been much better.  A wise counselor looks to a young boy and tells him.  “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”

Do you have a story that can illustrate this attitude?  I understand that there are other things that can affect how you feel, but in general what do you think of this philosophy?