Spellbound Zombie?

Yeah, I know I’m ugly…I said to a bartender, make me a Zombie, he said, God already beat me to it. – Rodney Dangerfield, comedian.

Better hold on tight because I’m very inspired this week…The other day I had the wonderful privilege of getting stuck in commuter traffic headed to Boston. To put it as nicely as I’m able, I can’t think of anything worse…but this time was different. I seem to be looking for the deeper meaning in events rather than take them simply at face value and wow did this one hit me! There exists the strange phenomenon that some drivers simply get in the passing lane and meander forward oblivious of the fact that there is traffic behind them chomping at the bit to get by. Trust me that this is not the simple observation of a potential road rager, rather the observation of someone asking…why? Looking down the road it was quite clear that there was plenty of room to simply slide over to the slow lane and continue at the tortoise’s pace, but instead the hares continued to zip by on the inside tossing nasty glances the way of the slow poke. But, when I went by and threw my compulsory glance, I noticed something even more frightening….a Zombie! I wonder if they even remember an instant of the trip…how about years of their lives gone by! I’m not talking the thing of Halloween folklore, rather a real live human zombie living amongst us, and as the day wore on I noticed that they were everywhere! Sitting in a hospital waiting room, I heard one staff member say to the other: “are you havin a good day” to which the other replied “so far, so good” to which the first concluded “me too…it could be worse”…pure Zombie speak! These people were so zoned out that they had fallen into a pattern of communicating that made no sense…how could “so good” get worse if it’s not bad in the first place!

I’m not sure why, but I realized that so many people are simply going through the motions of life like rats in a maze, hoping that there is a light at the end of the tunnel but never realizing that they can simply climb the wall and get out! Stopped at a red light in downtown Boston, I saw more Zombies getting off the train and following the maze up to their perches in some obscure corner of some gray building forgetting how to smile and simply say hello…down right angry at the world! How many of these people I thought must have to pop the latest anti-depressant just to make the steps forward…reluctant to face this grim existence! Sure go ahead and legalize drugs so that we can fall more easily into a stupor! How many people already count the hours until the proverbial whistle blows so they can run down to the local pub or liquor store to anesthetize themselves into a painless oblivion! Can you believe that I read the local story of two firehouse veterans getting in a shoving match because one had mentioned taking a “vacation,” subsequently the only vacation he got to take was a permanent one as he collapsed and died of a heart attack! What a colossal waste of human potential! What a waste of human productivity! The greatest human crime of all is that of the Zombie master! How does this happen? Are we really that enslaved so that we can’t break his spell! I’m not suggesting anarchy and just up and quitting, but how about looking at the great things that you might be able to accomplish today! It’s not about your imagined dragons…they don’t exist! They are the creatures given life by the Zombie master!

So before this goes too far into the dark side, please take notice that there is hope! My week concluded with the very proof I was looking for. I had the occasion to listen to the testimonial of seven young drug addicts and how they had broken free from the Zombie state. I’m talking about some hard core stories that might sound like the equivalent of living in a demilitarized zone that would make most of us quiver. So how did they do it…their group leader made it very clear…help somebody! This group had been founded in 1958 by a man inspired by the beating death of a handicapped youth by gang members simply to steal his shoes! But instead of raging about revenge, this guy said “go to New York and help those boys”, and just that they did. I wish you all could have been with me to see a small sample of these kids singing off key their theme of victory over the Zombie state! Yes, maybe they might have a relapse, maybe they won’t even make it…but they were fighting because someone simply took the time to tell them that they could. So take action right now and look to help someone get over their own Zombie curse and it just might help you get out of yours!

P.S. The group is called Teen Challenge International