The Battle Within All of Us

I dream of a day where ignorance is lost and peace is finally won. But, what an ignorant dream  in itself, huh? To hope for people to forget their nature and to hop to understanding before just hopping to judgement and then, inevitably it seems, to criticism. To not have our heads so far stuck up our own asses that we actually stop to see other people, not what they present on the outside necessarily, but what they hold carefully on the inside. I think we harden ourselves, we put up a front so that when we notice someone bearing judgement down upon us, we can say "Well, this isn't really me, they don't really know me. They just know what I deem them worthy of knowing. And clearly they have now proven themselves unworthy. This isn't me and they've missed out on the chance to know me, so they can piss off." And we tell ourselves this, even about the people we hold most dear. I don't think anyone really bears their true souls, unafraid of the judgement to pass by, the opinions thrown like sharp rocks with little care. But I also think that no matter how much you tell yourself you don't care, there's always a part of you that does. And I think we don't like that feeling, that feeling of not being good enough. Never good enough. So, we tell ourselves, "That was smart. You see what happens when only a little part of yourself is revealed? Good thing you don't show your whole self. Just imagine that pain!" But, this is wrong. We can't personalize everything, just decide this is who I am, take it or leave it. Because people change who they are all the time. The thing that really matters is WHAT you are. In your heart. Your mind. Your very soul, to the deepest part of yourself that is so hard to get a grasp on. Because I have a theory. A theory that I see proven wrong everyday, on every news channel and in every devastating story of human selfishness. But my theory is that each person is good. Good! I know, mind-blowing. I'm not just talking about the obvious people either, but the liars, stealers, cheaters, and murderers, too. Corruptors. Because, they didn't start out that way. None of us started out the way we are today. I think it's the world that's the real corruptor. And some succumb to the darker fate while the few to the lighter. And the rest of us are stuck somewhere in between, somewhere between trying to do the right thing and just not caring enough to follow through. So listen to that little voice, that cliche little part of you that still cares when the world doesn't. Because that is the only way you will find yourself. You don't have to care about what other people think, but at least care about what they feel.