The slight and almost surreptitious sound of the jet engines as the plane veered for landing interrupted my sleep. I had fallen victim of the fatigue induced by hours of immovability as my body revolted and finally shut down a mere thirty minutes into the flight from Toronto to Bogota. Now there I was, contemplating the sight that unfolded outside the small semi-rectangular window panel. At first, the only visible spectacle was that of the clouds being sliced as the plane’s wings cut through the dense formations. Slowly the cotton-like fog receded and opened my view to the world that hid underneath.  Thousands of small, bright yellow lights covered the plains and hills some thousands feet below in a manner that resembled careful y placed Christmas lights. Some however, contentiously pushed into the empty darkness engulfing the city, and others, more intrepidly, climbed into the mountains on the west. “What a breathtaking scene” I thought as I remembered how much I have always enjoyed looking down upon a city from an airplane window; especially at night.  The excitement was augmented when I realized that this city was a part of me, a part of my past, and part of my future. Though Bogota was not my destination, the mere sight of it reassured me that I was back and that my long retreat from Colombia had ended.

I woke up in the middle of the night; the hairs on my exposed arms were upright in contemptuous defiance against the cold air outside the warm cocoon that my bed sheets provided. Something seemed strange, the room was unusually darker and a bizarre noise came from the direction of the window. Terrified and disoriented by the eccentric sound, I sprung up and deliberately paced the room towards the menacing intruder. When I reached the end of the room and was standing close enough to actually feel the warm air coming from its mouth in patches of rhythmical exhalations, adrenaline started rushing through my body and made me unexpectedly aware of the situation; a drop of sweat run down my right temple as if foreshadowing the consequences of the proceeding actions.

In a world where so much inequity, injustice, corruption, and disparity exist, it is very easy to take for granted the beautiful and magnificent things. We, the self-thinkers and independent rational beings of the world, incline towards negativity more often than what I would perceive as necessary (if there is such thing as a necessary negative thinking). Optimism should be the ruler of our attitudes and rationality its counselor. In this way we successfully become the masters of our destiny, thus reaching the final conclusion that the locus of control is within each of us and outside events and/or people are only effects or reacting in accordance with our inner actions, also known as thoughts.

Many times I have felt the need and longing to obliterate the corruption and tyranny that clinches onto human societies. I have felt prurient to discover the root of this ubiquitous evil; the explanation that would make it clear and finally destroy the protective shell that has defended its originators for eons. I felt that the story told by our parents about a benevolent robber who took from the rich and gave to the poor taught the real meaning and goal of existence, that is, to equate and balance humanity. Little did I know at the time however, that this very mentality and creed serves to create imbalance and only destroys achievement and the spirit of the achievers; the complete opposite of what I believe in. This revolution of ideas came after closely examining my premises. To understand why I came to this conclusion, first it is paramount to understand what kind of men and women keep the world lubricated and running smoothly.

Everyday I encounter aimless people searching for the definitive answer to their problems. They alternate from religion to religion always with an invigorated enlightenment telling them that once and for all they have found what they have been looking for, only to be disillusioned later on; and the non-ending loop continuous perpetually throughout their lives. Most of these religions teach of a heaven and a hell that are to serve as blessing for our good deeds or punishment for our malefactions. I agree with this concept, though I have taken the liberty to aggregate my own personal philosophy and views to it.