The Great Escape

“You can never run away. Not ever. The only way out is in.” – Juno Diaz

I always knew that I was an escapist at heart. . . I preferred fantasy worlds to the real one. Strange, but true. From childhood, I always had a knack of disentangling myself out of the harsh situations around me and immersing myself into a parallel world. Reality never wowed me. When mundane life bound me, I would find a way to escape somehow.

Everyone’s trying to escape. Even animals respond in predictable ways to avoid pain and punishment. Avoidance and escape are the two main categories of behaviour under unpleasant conditions. It is a "get me out of here" or "shut this off" reaction, aimed at escape from pain or frustration. We humans are but an evolved species of our little brethren. Mindless hours spent surfing the internet or television, loud pointless conversations, junk food, alcohol, drugs, anti-depressants, painkillers, sleeping pills, porn, late hours partying....it’s all about the Great Escape!

Whether it’s composing poetry, creating great pieces of art or trying to commit suicide, apparently all so paradoxical, it’s always really been the same – attempts at the Great Escape. 

That raises the big question. What are we trying to flee from? And what does this really tell us about the state of affair of our relationships and the society we inhabit?

There is a huge amount of pain out there. The picture perfect make up and smiles, clothes and sparkly accessories, flashy cars and ostentatious lifestyles, fun party pics and boastful tweets on social media can’t disguise the pain, confusion, anxiety and terror that everyone feels within. Millions feel embittered, bewildered, and anxious of a future that’s not yet arrived. Our tactics of escape delay us from facing our reality, but face it we have to some day!

That's the weird thing about trying to escape. You never really can! Maybe momentarily, but not entirely. Fiction books can’t offer real escape, but they can temporarily prevent you from going insane.  Writing, composition and painting is therapeutic, albeit briefly. Most of us seek companionship solely to escape the trepidation of being alone. But strangely, learning to be solitary is central to the art of loving and living free. When we can learn to be alone, we can be with others without using them as a channel of escape. 

So what’s the solution? Well, we must first recognize that the root of all pain exists within. Every action manifested externally, can find its source within. And we can only heal this source once we identify and acknowledge its presence. Learn to introspect and find a balance between what you can control and what you can’t. It’s about creating harmony between effort and surrender. It’s about realizing that you don’t need external affection or endorsement in order to be good enough. When someone judges, reacts, rejects, hurts or abandons you, it’s never about you. It’s about them and their own anxieties, insecurities, fears and needs, and you no longer have to internalize that and make it your fear. Your self-worth isn’t reliant upon the world accepting you – you are unique, and perfect in the eyes of your Creator. Who else then has the authority to condemn or judge you? 

Instead of defending your worth or employing tactics to be a part of the Great Escape, go within and discover your unique powers, talents and skills not to escape reality but to create it. Break down your imaginary walls, reach out to others equally in pain and jointly heal and transform the grief within. The Power of One allows us to see that it’s not just our individual pain we are trying to escape from but “our collective human suffering”; and it’s not me alone that will fix our pain, it is “all of us” jointly. Together, we have no need to Escape. Together we can Imagine, Create and Manifest the wonderful world we want to inhabit.