This can be interpreted in more ways than one. There are those invisible ties of love, friendship,that can’t be explained but they are so real, almost tangible. Those I embrace and welcome.
And then there are those that are imposed on us. Family, teachers, governments and any other entity that for no good reason has power over us. That’s when I truly rage against the machines. People who abuse their power in any way are simply bullies with issues that were never addressed. At some point or another in life we all get a chance to have power over somebody. When I was very young I had my moment. To say I’m ashamed of my short lived bully moment is an understatement. I’m also not beating myself over it because I was a child and didn’t know better at the time, but I snapped out of it as quickly as I got into it. That was just a passing moment, because I’ve spent most of my childhood as well as adulthood being under someone’s thumb. As you look back you understand that hurt people hurt people, but you can choose not to be one of them. Too many adults in my life chose to use their position or title to hurt others, me. They showed me what I don’t want to be when I grow up. All those dream crushers and killjoys are just miserable beings who get off on other people’s pain. The Germans even have a word for those people ‘schadenfreude’. Don’t be one! If you can’t make someone’s life a wee bit easier don’t engage in making it worse just because you can.
To finish on a good note I’ll go back to the good ties that bind us. “The ties that bind us are sometimes impossible to explain. They connect us, even after it seems like the ties should be broken. Some bonds defy distance, and time, and logic. Because some ties are simply… meant to be.” Thankful to my friends for being good humans and allowing me to accompany them on their life journeys. Beyond thankful for their wonderful children that are turning up to be great little humans with the guidance of their parents and grandparents and allowing me to be an honorary auntie and a godmother. I take those roles very seriously and hope those ties are the ones that will never get broken.
It’s a balancing act, life. As desperate as we are to break the ties that limit us and our hopes and dreams, we are also grabbing for those that give us the fortitude to keep going.
*** ’Human’ by The Killers