Dueling Worlds

Looking around, she sees the same things and people that she has for years now. Thoughts and fantasies dance through her mind as she stockes the shelves in front of her. The occasional hello is murmured as she dances on the line between the real world and the one she created. The daily monotony melts away for her while dancing. The people and their impersonal greetings fall on deaf ears while the genuine images of her inner world create warmth. The grimness and false pretenses of her "real" life never fully touch her in this state. Her polyester shirt doesn't fit her wrong while she's in this place of comfort. Sweat doesn't roll down her back, nor do the nasty comments of customers who think she's owes them her world touch her. Rude co-workers and condesending managers don't treat her like scum. Debt and depression don't marr her conscious.

In her world, she is openly valued. In her world, she works out of love not obligation to the world's view of survival. Courtesy and kindness are the important attributes of a person not their looks and accomodating of others. The most beautiful thing in her world is the person's inner soul and spirit she sees. Their talents and emotions and thoughts paint breath taking pictures of greater quality than the greatest artist in the "real" world. Her hopes aren't dashed upon the rocky shores of nay-sayers in this realm within. Loneliness and sorrow fail to penetrate the thick walls that protect this inner world while she works on fine tuning the self she desires to see in the mirror. This workplace within has the safeguarding of friends and other loved ones that constantly encourage her to build herself up.

The dance of refining oneself is precarious and cumbersome. It is difficult to sift through the negative and positive to find the real truth. Filters for these things are created daily in order for people to gain the perspective they desire to see themselves in. At times, the more stubborn ones never give into the "real" world 's views of who and what they should be. Other times, the weaker ones succumb to the pressures of the "real" world and end up causing themselves misery and pain, and worse, sorrow in depression. The coldness of the "real" world leaves too many in it to lose true perspective and only see the carnival mirror images of themselves. The forge of life creates the world within us that is framed and founded on the love, kindness and friendship of others. One's true life is not the one where we allow ourselves to be bogged down by the negative forces swirlling around us daily. True life comes from within, and is reinforced daily by the caring of others. It is the armor that protects us from the customers who insist on being jerks. It is the boots that allow us to kick away the grimy filth of demeaning comments from others. It is the shades that keeps our vision from being blurred from the false light of "real" life. The true world comes from within each of us, and should never be found in neglect or disarray. Maintain it and nurture it until you feel strong enough to take on the "real" world and win. Maintain it to the point where you realize that the strongest element in both worlds is the faith in the One who loves us most.