Free Your Mind

John Hope opened his eyes and found himself lying on a stiff mattress. The mattress was striped and worn out and was covered by a grey comforter that felt like a scratch pad on John’s back. He sat up on the bed and looked ahead and was greeted by the sight of iron doors. John was in a jail cell, but he couldn’t recall why. “What am I doing here?” He thought to himself. “I didn’t commit a crime. I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t even have a criminal record. So why am I in a jail cell?”

John looked around the dark cell and saw nothing, not even a toilet. He only found himself alone and surrounded by darkness. Thoughts of confusion and bewilderment plagued his mind. He couldn’t for the life of himself understand where he was or why he was there. John then looked through the bars of his cell and realized there were no other cells in sight. There was only an empty wasteland followed by a faint glimmer of light in the distance.

“What is this?” John asked out loud as he rose to his feet. “This is you” a fleshless voice echoed through the cell in a low tone. “Who is that? Where are you?” John asked. “I’m Everett.” The low voice replied. “Everett who?” John asked. “Everett Exhaust”. “Everett Exhaust?” John asked curiously. “What kinda name is that?”.“You should know Johnny boy” Everett began. “You created me.”

“How did I create you?” A curious John asked. “You created him when you decided you couldn’t let me go” a raspy voice echoed through the cell. This voice belonged to someone else. “And who are you?” John asked. “I’m Wart” the voice began. “Worry Wart. Because of your attachment to me you unintentionally created Everett.” Everything suddenly became clear to John. He was stuck in his own head. John was trapped in the metaphorical prison of his own mind. Wart and Everett were metaphors for the worry and stress he put on his heart from the woes of life.

“You are us…and we are you” Everett and Wart echoed in unison. John fell back on to the mattress with emotional exhaustion before he heard another voice call to him. “But you don’t have to be” the voice uttered softly. “Who…who is that?” a startled John asked. “I…am…Hope!.” The voice replied softly. “Like me?” John asked. “Not just a name, but the spirit inside you that you’ve yet to allow yourself to be one with.” Hope concluded. “How do I do that?” John asked as he sat up on the mattress. “Open your eyes.” Hope began. “Open your eyes and take the first step.”

“No.” The raspy voice of Wart started. “Stay handcuffed to us and be tied down to your misery.” “Yeah. You know this emotional rollercoaster is fun.” The exhausted voice of Everett added. “NO!” John asserted with exhausted anger. I’m done with this love affair of mental destruction and now I want out.” John laid back on the mattress and closed his eyes tightly for a long moment and then he finally opened them.

When John opened his eyes he found himself not in the dark prison of his mind that he was in before, but on his comfortable bed in his bedroom as the bright sunny sky shun down on him. There was a peaceful warmth in his heart that made him feel like he had something to look forward to on this bright morning. He then went to his living room where his painting equipment had been set up the night before and sat in his painting chair. “What should I paint?” He asked himself as he picked up his paint brush. “I guess I’ll just dip my brush in this blue paint bucket and let my hands of Hope take over.”