there comes a time when we have
to face ourselves. to face our demons. confront our mortality. in a cage. under the lights. or on a stage. at knifepoint. we are tested. we will be tested. when there is no one there to save us. nothing but the self against the self. the only opponent will be the mind. no one to hold our hand. no god. no mother or father. when fear will hold us by the balls. there are incidents that will occur. I have had some of these moments. they have shaped me. mugged by a robber with a knife to the throat. jumped so close to home, only 3 streets away when safety was near. stood on a stage with a mic in front of me. these moments have shaped me. crippled me, invigorated me and provided great insight. life gives us chances to prove ourselves. moments that can destroy us. that can harden us. I have been stiff bodied in a hospital bed having suffered from a seizure. I have not had any relatives die, not yet, but surely we are mortal and that day will come. there have been brushes of terror. when I saw a loved one coughing blood in rivers of crimson. I did what I could, what had to be done. we cannot fathom mortality, it grips us and lays us bare. we can only seek to test ourselves. to confront fear with action. to step into challenges. to take fear by the neck and choke it down to the ground. to grow. to embrace boldness. to become comfortable in the line of fire. we must test ourselves. we must fight.