Escaping The Darkness

Since the beginning of time, there has always been a quest for power: the power to reign over regions, to establish laws or rules, and ultimately the power to dominate people through those laws or regulations. Occasionally, this is born from unspeakable trauma and situations that have permanently altered those affected by it. For some, the unspoken heroes of our time, their motives are pure, and they genuinely want to change the world for the betterment of all. Still, for others, the villains in our lives, their souls have been so damaged that they have to control everything around them, regardless of how it adversely affects anyone in their path. They have to conquer it all, control it all, and have it all to satisfy their deep-seated need for peace and happiness. They become so obsessed with it that they lose all sense and reasoning. They never want to relive the atrocities that left a permanent mark on their soul. They never want to experience that level of pain again but whatever they hope to attain through their ruthless methods is fleeting because they never dealt with the root of their pain, and it has festered and infected their souls.

A painful past is a typical backstory of every villain. Most of those backstories are saturated with tales of inexplicable trauma and loss, unspeakable tragedies that some can never overcome inwardly. Depending on the depth of the wounds they sustained, some villains can be redeemed and saved while others cannot, and it is a hard pill to swallow for those of us who want to try to save every wounded soul. The sobering fact is that you cannot save everyone, and regardless of how hard you try, some people do not want to be saved. They are comfortable in their chaos, in their pain, and although you mean well, you must be careful that the person you are trying to save does not unexpectedly bring about your demise. You must also be cautious that you are not caught up in the web of lies that entangle you and keep you enslaved to their dark purpose. While it is noble to save them, you can inadvertently become an accomplice to their sinister plan and lose yourself in the process because you so desperately want them to be free. If you have been with them for a significant amount of time, you have established an unhealthy bond with them, which has the potential to enslave you to their will subconsciously.

Behind every villain is someone who knows them, loves them, and stood by them through it all before they turned into the monster they became infamous for. They saw the good or possibly even witnessed the painful events that were the catalyst for the villain’s transition from good to evil. Their love and loyalty run deep, especially if they experienced similar traumas. They could be a friend, family member, or a lover. There is always someone standing there with the villain, hoping that against all odds, their loved one could be saved from the dark path they have chosen. However, if the darkness does not desensitize you, you will inevitably reach a point when you cannot stand by and watch the injustice any longer, and you must take a stand against it. Then, you have a moment of clarity, and regardless if all hell breaks loose, you are not going to tolerate watching that person, the villain in your life whom you love, continue to delve further into darkness or bring you down with him.

Before you confront the villain, you should consider the outcome and the risks. Your safety is of utmost importance, and you should not flippantly do something if you are unsure you can walk away unscathed. When you finally take a stand and try to confront him, there is no telling what will happen. Villains are unpredictable, their perspectives are skewed, and their motives vary from one moment to another because their moral compass is significantly unbalanced. Sharing your life with one, in any facet, is likened to that of riding a roller coaster. You fly through life at excessive speeds without enough time to grasp the effects of the extreme highs and lows. When the ride finally ends, you wonder how you ever endured it for such an extensive timeframe. Then finally, once the veil has been removed, and you can see things clearly for the first time, the realization of what you experienced hits you like a ton of bricks, and you have to deal with the emotional and mental fallout of what you endured or tolerated.

Most villains do not want to lose their loyal following, especially their trusted confidantes, and they go to great lengths to keep them by their side and will use anything to manipulate or coerce them to stay. They brainwash their followers from the beginning by uttering false reports of their opponents that if you somehow end up in their enemy’s territory or camp, it would be seriously detrimental to you. Once you have been convinced of that, they give you a false sense of acceptance and security by painting a picture that you belong to an unorthodox family. Should you leave, you will be entirely alone and unprotected, much like sheep thrown away to the wolves. For that reason, most of the recruits they choose are those who do not have a healthy family background. They prey on those who have been rejected and neglected, who desperately seek love or companionship, and shower them with a false sense of identity, worth, and family. Once they are reeled in and have rooted themselves in the fold, that is when the villain’s true colours emerge, and by then, their hold is so strong that it becomes a scary thing to leave and potentially lose the only family you have ever known. You question if it is worthwhile to reject something you know is relatively safe and secure to acquire what has only been painted, by the villain, as the bitter and dangerous unknown.

There are a couple of things that can happen when you confront the villain in your life: 1) They will reject what you say and try to manipulate you with more lies to keep you under their rule or, 2) They will see the error of their ways and seek to change their path. It’s generally uncommon for the latter to occur, and more often than not, villains rarely take accountability for their behaviour. If you cannot convince the villain that the path they are on is destroying them and everyone around them, you must decide if you will stay or go. Make no mistake; it is healthier for you to leave and break away from what will ultimately ruin you. Should you finally push through the emotional and mental barriers to reach that place when you are ready to leave the dysfunction, the lies, the web, and the darkness that held you captive for such a long time, the road will be arduous. A true villain will never make it easy for their followers to leave, even if you were a trusted confidante. The tables will turn, and they will undoubtedly pull out all the stops and hold back no punches to dissuade you from switching allegiances. Their tainted perspective and agenda so deceive them that they cannot see how wrong they are and can only blame everyone else who they deem have betrayed their trust by leaving them. They will not divulge the truth that those who left attempted to appeal to their sense of humanity beforehand to show them the toxic mess they created and to implore them to step out of it. They cannot show any weakness to their followers and, therefore, will not admit the blame.

Should none of their tactics work to keep you by their side or if you are incapable of being manipulated by them any longer, and if by some miracle they do not resort to violence to keep you there, they will excommunicate you. They will shut you out of everything and everyone you have known within their toxic group, ensuring to deceive the others about the real intent behind your defection. They will paint a diabolical portrait of your behaviour and character to the other followers to guarantee that nobody would see them as the true culprit behind your departure. As painful as that ex-communication will be, it is also liberating. You are finally free from the totalitarian rule you were under and can now begin detoxifying your heart and soul from the harmful effects of that rule. You have escaped the darkness and come into the light of a bright and promising future, however, momentarily terrifying that may seem.

As daunting as the unknown can be, when you have finally broken free from the grasp that held you captive, you have the privilege at this juncture to choose your future. You are no longer underfoot or dominated by someone trying to hold you back, and neither is someone secretly trying to thwart your success. You have made it this far, and despite the tribulations, obstacles, losses, and traumas you have experienced, up until this moment, you are still alive. Therefore, it is not even an option at this point to throw in the towel but instead to arise from the ashes of your decimated dreams to successfully and happily cross the finish line. There may be some who crumble under the weight of difficulties, but there are many others, like you, with a steely resolve who will thrive despite it all regardless of the circumstances thrown their way. If you made it this far, if you have broken free from the villain of your soul who by all accounts appeared to be a comrade but was ultimately a wolf disguised as a sheep attempting to bring about your demise, you are more than a survivor. You are an overcomer.

Someone can survive an atrocity and remain broken for the rest of their lives and never get over the past. An overcomer is someone who can endure hardship, rise from the debris of their shattered dreams, obtain closure and absolution, and then continue the journey regardless of what lies ahead. The spirit of a person drives them to their expected end, pushes them beyond the boundaries, and their spirit will persevere through it all until they succeed. Nothing can stop someone who refuses to quit, refuses to stop fighting, or even refuses to die. You can beat them, belittle them, impoverish them, and oppress them, but the spirit of that person drives them forward. It sustains them, strengthens them, encourages them, and even draws healing to them. You can break a person, but if that person’s spirit is strong, you will never defeat them. You will only provide them with more extraordinary tenacity and fuel for their fire to prove the cynics wrong and accomplish their goals.

These are the people who will change the world. The ones who escaped the darkness, who broke free from their villains, and overcame every obstacle that was thrown their way. They are the ones who will fight on behalf of those who are too weak to fight for themselves, and they will make a better path for others. They will fight for justice, they will fight for those who the totalitarian villains in our world are oppressing, and they will not rest until they are victorious.

I know this to be true, for I am one of those people. I have escaped the darkness, broken free from my villains, demons, from the oppressive rule and toxic mindsets of others. I have fought my way through the abuse and lies of those who tried to hold me back, those who attempted to keep me from reaching my goals, and those who wanted to hinder any measure of success in my life.

I will not be stifled by those villains any longer. I have escaped that darkness so that I can be a light to bring hope to others who are on the cusp of giving up and encouragement to those who do not see their own potential for greatness. I will be a voice for those who cannot speak up for themselves, and I will be a part of the change that this world sorely needs.

Although I am far from perfect and still have much to learn, I refuse to give up. Instead, I will bring my light to those who are trapped in the darkness, to those who are longing to be free, and who are longing to be loved and accepted for who they are. I will be a light in a dark place, wherever that dark place may be.