The House Of The Rising Sun

Lost Time In The Shadows Of Experimentation

The youth are often exposed to passageways which are not so commonly sought after in adulthood. These passageways are not physical entities but psychological ones. They are introduced among children and adolescents through thoughts, words and actions. Almost every one of them hears about these passageways, but not all of them want to traverse space and time. Many prefer to remain in the house of the rising sun.

These passageways lead to lost time in the shadows of experimentation. It often starts with a cigarette or two at a party, a bowl of marijuana in a random car ride or a Natty Light or Rolling Rock in someone’s basement. The youth that do decide to enter these passageways often do not return for a while. They become entangled in a web of sticky highs.

These highs take over their reality. What their parents say loses even more meaning, but what their peers say and do is highly regarded. When their peers applaud them for entering these passageways, their self-esteem receive a high jolt and their popularity increase. This is the moment they’ve finally been waiting for; the high school red carpet!

In these passageways, the substances change their perception on reality. They start to appreciate music more, attend wild concerts in Tennessee and experience random hookups every other weekend. Life in these passageways costs nothing more than a few dime bags, a bottle of Jack and a pack of Camel Lights.

But what the youth forget while traversing these passageways is that lost time cannot be regained. In the moment, they feel like they are on top of the world; “who needs time when flying sky high!” But these passageways do not remain smooth forever. There are many bumps in the road the deeper they go.

When reality starts to set in as they mature and acquire more responsibilities, they begin to realize that time was indeed lost. They are presented with a stop sign: either continue down the unpredictable passageways or crawl back up into reality. Some crawl out of these Super Mario green tunnels, while many continue floating on clouds with no final destination.

The house of the rising sun is not always available to return to. For those floating on clouds, they may never return back to the house of the rising sun. And for those who crawled out too late, well . . . the sun has already set sail.

Be careful when taking a trip down the rabbit hole.

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)