ESCAPE

The word of the day is Escape.

From what I’ve seen, wanting to “escape” is a bad thing. It’s seen as running away from your problems. An unhealthy way to deal with life.  Dare I say a coward's way out because you’re not confronting your issues. 

People are dealing with a lot of pain, trauma, and stress today. I’m in no position to tell someone how to deal with what they're dealing with without them asking my opinion on their problems. It’s expensive as fuck to just survive. Any money anybody works for it goes immediately to someone else’s pocket. Don’t get me started if you’re a parent because that’s a whole different type of financial and mental clusterfuck. 

There’s senseless genocide. People are just mean for no fucking reason. Jobs fucking suck and are taking advantage of their employees every chance they get. People are losing their minds. Who the fuck wants to stick around this shit? Who is trying to figure out how to fix all these problems? I think the best thing to do is escape. 

The weight people carry everyday gets heavier and heavier and there's no spotter to help with the weight. You know how I know shit crazy out here? When I see married couples struggling mentally too. Not with each other but with where the world is going. I recently just saw someone take their own life and I know for a fact he loved his wife and kids. The world broke him. The weight he was carrying was so heavy that he made a decision that changed his loved ones forever. 

I know that’s an extreme example of escaping and I pray anyone reading this does not make that kind of escape but that’s the reality we’re living in. People are truly trying their best and it never seems like it’s enough. What happens when you try your best and you live life right and it still feels like you’re being punished? You look around at the people who live foul and you see them get rewarded. It’s something that deflates you and you just gotta find the energy to navigate everything while being deflated. 

I’ll say this. Keep being a good person. Your soul is attached to that. When you abandon being a good person you’re abandoning your soul too. Don’t become numb and hollow. Problems will keep arising but I want you to rise above them. Some days you won’t be able to and that’s normal. You’re not defeated, you're just delayed. It’s not over. The problems will come. Acknowledge them but don’t worship them. 

If you need to escape, I want you to go. If you need a solo trip or a trip with a friend I want you to book it. It doesn’t have to be super expensive. Drive to another city and just eat good food and take in the sights of that city. Give your mind a break from thinking about what’s stressful in your life.

Use your imagination. Our imagination is the healthiest escape we have in our reach. Let your imagination drive you to places that bring the joy and kid out of you. Get lost in a good book or a good hike. I love listening to music outside under trees while smoking trees. Sometimes I do it without weed. I just love walking and I love being near trees. It’s even better when I eat tacos under them. It’s where I do my best thinking. 

When your emotions are out of sorts. If there’s trauma you’re experiencing. Mental health issues. Anxiety. Escape somewhere that will bring you back to the center of who you are. Somewhere that will bring you joy. 

An escape is for you to recalibrate and put your mind in a better state to eventually face the problems in your life. Don’t just keep running every time there’s a problem. All that does is just place a pause on the problem and it’ll possibly grow bigger the longer you ignore it. Escaping is good but not if you become dependent on it. 

My way of thinking is that my problems are not bigger than my God. It’s how I was raised and I understand that my way may not work for everyone so I don’t push it on everyone. It took some time to get to a point where I’m mentally strong and hard to break but those times where I was the opposite of that are not far behind me. Trust me. Allah has brought me a long way. 

If escaping won't be enough for you please ask for help. Do not feel ashamed of asking for help. Sometimes we can’t fix ourselves alone and that’s okay because that’s how communities are built. 

When people, places or things are constantly the source of your stress I want you to escape and make it great. The great escape. 

Love, Benny