Just a Bunch of Misfits

Lately I’ve done my best to let go of worrying about the fate of humanity and doing things that most 26 year olds should be doing, like trying not to think about how much money is my my bank account, singing off key with my friends at weekly music jams and turning in school paper’s minutes before they are due. Yet at times a headline or story will break through and give me an afternoon of existential dread. For instance July 4th was the hottest day ever recorded in human history. I recently saw guardians of the Galaxy 3. In it you learn about the traumatic early life experience of the character Rocket, a hyper intelligent space racoon. A major theme of the movie is Rocket grappling with his past and learning to make peace with himself and his role in the universe. A favorite scene of mine *spoiler is when he has a vision of a friend of his who has died while he is going into cardiac arrest. As he nears death his friend gently says “You still have a purpose here. Rocket cries, “A purpose for what? They made us for nothing.” His friend replies, “There are the hands that make us. And there are the hands that guide the hands…” In my mind this means that no matter how challenging the circumstances that you come from or that you find yourself in, there is always an opportunity to find meaning, hope and love. The Guardian’s of the Galaxy are some of my favorite Marvel Heroes because they are a band of misfits that have somehow made a home and found a family in the vastness of a lonely universe. They go up against forces threatening the universe, not with overwhelming powers, but creativity, courage and friendship. That may have been one of the cheesiest things that I have ever written but I feel that nowadays we need it. Our generation is a generation of misfits. We have had the script of what defines a meaningful and happy life pulled out from under us under the burden of debt, political turmoil, war and environmental degradation, and are left to find our own purpose and meaning in the midst of a chaotic world and uncertain future. I have found that the only thing we have to hold onto is each other. While dealing with our own struggles and trauma’s, it can feel as though the world is asking too much of us. I often feel as if I don’t have much to offer anyone and can barely handle my own problems, let alone those of the world. And yet somehow we find each other in the darkness. We find ways to laugh, to cry and to keep eachother moving forward. Love is the only way out,my friends.