Attack Of The Zombies

I remember the pain. Excruciating pain. Stretched out flat at the base of the tree. I could see the gash marks above me in the tree where my climbing spikes had kicked out. I remember the horror as I realized something was wrong with my body…. things weren’t working like they were supposed to. Yes, it was a broken back. Crushed spinal cord at T-10. Life flight to the big hospital… specialists…neurologists… MRI’s…tests, and more tests. And finally surgery. Back surgery was followed up with neck surgery three and a half months later. Long rehabilitation and physical therapy.

Most everything associated with the accident was predictable. You would expect the pain. The fear that attacks a man in this situation is normal. The joy at not being paralyzed…unsurprising. It is almost overwhelming, the gamut of emotions and feelings that bombard a man throughout a long, drawn-out ordeal like this.

There was something however that caught me totally off guard. A weird dynamic, that I never saw coming, and that was my loss of self-worth. I hadn’t expected to feel so disposable. There I was, the provider for, and protector of, my family, and I was flat on my back, docile and vulnerable.

Now my family was still provided for. Insurances had been put in place to take care of them financially, but I wasn’t actively doing it. As a man, I began to lose my pride. My sense of fulfillment disappeared.

There is satisfaction that comes from hard work. There is a fulfillment that can only be achieved by overcoming tough obstacles. The joy at a job well done, is hard to describe. If a man is deprived of these opportunities they lose a major part of their character.

ZOMBIES!!!
We’ve all seen them. The walking dead, or undead as the case may be. They look like a real human (mostly) but they don’t completely have a human makeup. They stumble and stagger through the streets brainlessly. While they look humanesque, they lack important fundamental human characteristics. Cognitive thinking skills? Nope. Productivity? Nope. They’ve been stripped of their most basic human distinctive. The infection that came from the governmental experiments has ravaged their minds. We have positively identified the virus that has caused the scourge of zombies…. WELFARE!

These zombies don’t have fully functioning brains. Their motor skills are alright I guess, but you can’t really carry on a decent conversation with them. There is an unquenchable lust for the living that drives them on and on. I…MUST…GO…FORWARD…. MUST…FIND…LIVNG…HUMAN…THAT…I…CAN…CONSUME….
You’ll notice that their arms are stretched out in front of them…looking for handout.

There is a strange dynamic that takes place when a person begins to get “something for nothing,” It steals your spirit. The handouts sap your sense of achievement, and your feeling of self worth. Happiness levels plummet, as handouts go up. They crush the spirit of ingenuity, and accomplishment. Motivation dies. The burning embers of pride are extinguished and self loathing takes it’s place.

So are you against helping those in need, you may ask. No. A million times no! Charity is one of the single most rewarding endeavors you can undertake. I have been on both ends of charity. I will continue to let the milk of human kindness flow. My concern today, is not with the attitude of the giver, but rather the receiver of charity. When one receives charity they should always look at it as a hand up, and not a hand out. It is a temporary measure to get me through, until I am in the position to do the same for others.

Destroy the mentality that you can get something for nothing. If you are on the recieving end of charitable kindness, pledge to pay it back. Not necessarily to the giver, but perhaps to another needy soul. Work to balance out the charity by donating your time and energy to others. It will stem the sapping of your soul, if you are giving to others. You will not be deprived of that vital human need for accomplishment.

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