Son,

Although I didn’t make a big deal today when you mentioned how much you loved this song, an actual chill ran down my spine and across my skin when you told me and just can’t say it enough! That song has so much meaning to me and I listened to it when I was at The Meadows the day before I came home. It was as though God Himself needed me to hear it so I could start to understand the way my own mind and heart were truly broken and sick. Believe it or not that song played a huge part in my ultimate decision to once and finally turn my life inside out and somehow attempt to rise above myself.

There’s a game life plays, makes you think you’re every thing they ever said you were.

You see, that’s how I got sick! The constant criticisms from grandma and grandpa, MY VERY OWN PARENTS (who, although you never knew it, were very much like your own), and unfortunately even your Dad? Those were the three people in this world that I loved, trusted, and counted on the most to validate and protect me from harm, yet the only way any of them seemed to know how to “love”, “accept”, or “validate” anyone was based on certain conditions being met. “If you do this you are bad, but if you don’t do that you are good!” “If you don’t follow our advice and do exactly as we say then we will wash our hands of and be done with you.” Seriously? IT’S SO FUCKING SCREWED UP! That’s not how love is supposed to work at all. If you really love someone, you just love them with no strings attached and no contingencies.

Was it life I betrayed for the shape that I’m in?

You and me Christian? We are BOTH our own worst enemies! Because we have both heard over and over and over again the “love you/hate you, you’re good/no, you’re bad” messages, now they play as negative tapes rolling repeatedly in the back of our minds such that neither of us know who the fuck we are anymore!

We sold our souls to their “works and deeds based affections” and the endless price tags they came with, and have now only failed ourselves by believing that “love” is only valueless bargaining chip people use to get what they want! And do you want to know what the saddest irony in all of this is? Somehow I believe that they do love me Christian, just as I believe they love you, too! None of them purposely set out to emotionally cripple or abuse us, but at the same time, even to this day they neither recognize or account for any of it! They all learned how to love from their own toxic family webs, so the Venom suit lives on! Your job now (as was mine the time I first heard this) is to “take some time and clear away everything you’ve planned”.

You have to retrain your brain and teach it to be kinder to YOU! We are surrounded by all these people Christian, who “love us the most in this world”, yet only with conditions. Love is not supposed to be this way, and it’s why you’re so mean to yourself Christian. You’ve been told so many times that “you’re a fuck up, a moron and a loser ” (but then five minutes later, “no, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that”), that you literally don’t know who or WHAT you really are other than to say to yourself that you are “probably more bad than good”.

If I could change my life, be a simple kind of man, try to do the best I can. If I could see the signs, I’d derail every path I could. Now I’m about to die, won’t you clear away a path, give me strength to fly away.

You see, this is the part of the song! I knew it was going to hurt everyone, and most especially you and your sister, and that it also might cost me everything. But I truly was “about to die” if I couldn’t find that strength to clear my own path and finally “fly away”, so I had to make a choice. If I had done “the good, right, and unselfish thing” that your grandparents and dad kept guilting me towards and stayed in that toxic cycle with your dad, not only would it have ended up literally physically killing me, but sooner or later it would have irreparably damaged both my kids. So, I had to choose the lesser of two evils. I had to be “selfish”, choose ME, turn my life inside out, and therefore in my mind clear a better path for you and Gia.

Christian, I’m so glad you are seemingly opening your eyes to yourself and how you have became so angry, cynical, and untrusting. I’ve been praying to God every night since I left that house that some day you would understand why I had to leave! I don’t want either you or your sister somehow becoming me at age 40 and being hauled off to a facility with nothing but “wasted years” behind you. If I’d have known, understood, or realized even a shred of “me” at your age, 21, well who knows what could have been, right? The point is I don’t want you to spend too many more years being angry, broken and despising yourself. YOU’VE TORTURED YOURSELF ENOUGH! You have to find a way get out of your own way now and put down some of that heavy stuff so that you don’t end up driving yourself either crazy, dead, or ALONE! And I’m sorry for this “wall” of a text message but I love you so much and every day that goes by I believe you are getting closer to rising above yourself, too, and leading a happy and peace-filled existence. You and I have both learned the very hard way by now that life is too damn precious and fragile. No more “Wasted Years”, okay?

~ “BMITW”

WASTED YEARS

There’s a game life plays – makes you think you’re everything they ever said you were. I’d like to take some time to clear away everything I’ve planned. Was it life I’ve betrayed for the shape that I’m in? It’s not hard to fail, it’s not easy to win. Did I drink too much? Did I disappear? Well there’s nothing that’s left but wasted years. There’s nothing left but wasted years. If I could change my life I’d be a simple kind of man try to do the best I can. If I could take the sides, I’d derail every path I could. I’m about to die, won’t you clear away from me and give me strength to fly away? Was it life I’ve betrayed for the shape that I’m in? It’s not hard to fail, it’s not easy to win. Did I drink too much? Did I disappear? Well there’s nothing that’s left but wasted years. {Cold}