The Monsters Under The Bed

I remember being afraid of monsters when I was a kid. I recall feeling weird about letting my legs or arms dangle over the edge of my bed at night. Or feeling uneasy about the darkness of my closet. I remember watching the Steven King movie IT for all of about 30 minutes when I was about 5 years old. Until my mom noticed that I was there and made me go and play. That's all it took though, was that 30 minutes.....From then on, I plugged every drain in the house anytime I was near one. I still to this day don't like clowns.

I think most kids wonder what's under their beds at night..Or something similar, at one time or another...Most have probably hidden their heads under a blanket or turned on a nightlight to keep the darkness away.

Its not until we become adults that we realize you cant keep the monsters of the world away with a nightlight. Its then when we are grown that we know that monsters are real in this world and they do walk among us every day.

The real Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. They wear many faces, come from many places. They can be male or female, old or young. Some have themselves disguised in friendly faces. Some we think of as family. Some have bombs....Or guns...Or fists....Or words that they use against us. But there is one thing they all have in common. Just like any predator, the monsters of the world prey on those who are smaller or weaker than themselves.

I think on a daily basis most of us try not to think about the monsters being out there. Its just easier that way. Lets face it...Its one thing to suspect there might be a monster under our bed...Its another to know for a fact he's there. Its the confirmation of his existence that keeps us from sleeping peacefully at night.

Its not because we don't care that we sometimes look the other way to avoid seeing the monsters. Its not because we are bad people. Its because we sometimes lack the courage it takes to deal with them. Its the same kind of fear that makes us look the other way from the bully on the play ground....In hopes that he wont be drawn toward us.

Looking into the monsters eyes takes a lot of inner strength. It takes a special person to be able to do that day in and day out. It takes someone who maybe be just as afraid of the monsters as we are...But realizes that someone has to be willing to slay them.

Some feel its always better to walk softly and avoid using that big stick. Normally, I would have to agree. After all we are a civilized society. We should be able to use reason and logic to settle a problem, shouldn't we?

If we were not dealing with Monsters the above ideas would probably work. But the problem with logic and reason and civilized conversation...Is that monsters do not care. They do not feel your desire to talk things out with them. They do not worry if you are feeling threatened or do not wish to be harmed. They have one thing only that motivates them.....And that is their own need. A Monster does what he does for his own reasons...Its not logical or reasonable.

Whether we like it or not...Whether we want to say it out loud or admit it quietly to ourselves...Monsters do exist in this world. Just because we choose not to look under the bed doesn't mean they aren't there.

To the men and women who have to deal with the monsters every single day. Who have the courage to do the job that I myself cant. I want to say thank you.