Reveries and Musings

5

"There are no heroes, no villains. Just people with different agendas."

-- Daredevil.

For ages, we've put down villains, boycotted them, destroyed them at every opportunity. The villain has, and will, always be associated with Darkness.

But stop. For one minute, stop and think. Think how important the villain is. It is because of villains that the world has heroes. It is because of Darkness that we have Light. It there were only heroes, would we really understand their importance? We only believe in heroes, look up to them, when the villains put themselves down so that the heroes can rise.

Somehow, I've always found the villain - in any TV show, book, or even real life - to be more attractive, more charismatic than the hero.

The hero's good, yes, but then, he's supposed to be.

Don't you ever look beyond the surface? Don't you ever think about the story behind the villain's 'villainness'? Somehow, the villain's story is always more tragic and heart-wrenching than that of the hero.

Nobody's born a hero or a villain, good or bad. A baby doesn't even know the meaning of or the difference between good and bad, Light and Darkness.

Situations, circumstances and most importantly, Life, makes them the way they are today.

And sometimes, the villain isn't really all that bad.

Everybody's heard about facades. Everybody has one too. So what makes the villains any different? Whether they're heartless, whether they have a facade or not, in the end, they're all human.

You don't know how much a person has suffered in life, what all they've gone through.

When you don't know the story, you have no right to write a review about it.

Villains are often good people turned bad. Sometimes, it's by choice, sometimes, by force.

Nobody wants to be bad, to always be on the run, to always be chased by their demons. But sometimes, they're forced to succumb to their destiny.

The only thing that villains fear is goodness. They're scared that it will destroy them, and so, they put up a 'badass' image.

But sometimes, to turn over a new leaf, you alone aren't enough. Sometimes, you need someone to pull you back before you spiral downwards towards your doom.

I've always loved stories, folktales, of Light destroying Darkness. But, sometimes, even as a child, I couldn't connect with them.

People talk about choosing the right path, doing the right thing. But who decides what is right and what is wrong? Who decides how much of Darkness should be destroyed by Light?

Who are you to judge what is the right path? You, a mere human, with a tainted past of your own, have no right to tell me what I should or should not do.

This is my life. I will decide how to live it. If I make a mistake, it's MY mistake. I shall bear the consequences. I, me, myself. So why are you so bothered by it? Worry about yourself, your own mistakes, before you decide to control my life. Yes, there's Darkness in me. But I don't believe that whatever is inside me is Darkness. For me, that is my Light.

And how would you even define Darkness or Light? What deeds, what activities, what actions, what emotions fall under Darkness? That is my decision, and nobody else's.

Getting a tattoo or getting piercings doesn't automatically make you a dark person.

On the contrary, it makes you a person who is courageous enough to express what he feels in ways other than words.

The world is so strange. The double standards, the hypocrisy, the baseless beliefs baffle me to the point of ridiculousness. They're so absurd that I can't help but laugh at them.

Sometimes, I feel that good and evil don't really exist. Or even if they do, what is good for me may be evil for you and vice versa.

Ravana is shunned in India, and is always associated with evil. In Sri Lanka, the same Ravana is worshipped. This itself speaks volumes.

Every action of a person is seen differently by different people. And it's because of this reason that you have no right to judge me, or me, you.

How can you look at a person's outer appearance and form an opinion? On what basis do you even judge the person? Whether the person is thin or not? Tall or short? Has a good dressing sense or not? Is good-looking or not? I'm sorry but you're being very inconsiderate if that's how you form opinions.

For once, look into the eyes of a person, into their soul. See them for who they are. Look beyond the body, the exterior. Maybe you'll find a broken piece of art that can still be put together. But I'll assure you, you will find art. For each one of us is art.

Each person is unique, one of a kind. You're you, and no one can be like you. Don't go looking for love before you learn to love yourself. Don't go looking for ways to bring peace to this world before you're at peace with yourself. Remember, an artist can never create unless he believes in himself and his ability to do so.

Don't destroy Darkness completely. It's not even possible to do so. Have you ever tried destroying your own shadow? You can't, can you? But what does the presence of a shadow tell you? That there's Light. Would you have known there was Light, if Darkness hadn't told you so?

Be the Light that defines Darkness, not the Light that destroys it.

Learn to embrace both the Light and the Dark in you.

Have you ever seen Yin and Yang, or its symbol? Ever wondered why the symbol is the way it is? I believe that it's because it's teaching us to maintain balance. Don't tip the scales too much on one side.

Darkness only needs to be destroyed when there's too much of it.

Don't fight something, shun it, because the world says it's wrong. Don't accept something because the world says it's right. The world can say what it wants to, but you're not the world.

Question everything. Form your own opinions. Accept only that which YOU think is right for you. Fight against what YOU feel is wrong. Learn to trust your own judgements and opinions. Learn to ask what, why, how. Question everything because you have a right to. Because you can.

Though you convince yourself that what the world thinks doesn't matter, somewhere, deep down, even you wish to be accepted. That doesn't make you weak or vulnerable. It makes you human. For me, wishing to be accepted into this world isn't something wrong, as long as the quest for it doesn't destroy me.

And the most important thing is to start with yourself.

Accept yourself, with all the Darkness and Light in you, and the world will accept you, without doubt.

Lie with confidence and the world won't dare to question you.

But don't mould yourself according to others' beliefs, opinions, wants and needs.

Respect yourself, and the world will respect you.

Treat yourself like dirt, and the world will kick you aside like a piece of trash.

Love yourself, and the world will love you.

All it takes is a little courage, a little acceptance, and the ability to believe in yourself when no one else does, and no one can stop you from being you.