STOPPED PRAYING

He stopped praying when he opened his eyes and looked around him.

He had been praying for shoes, but they had no limbs. He had been praying for more life, but they had their timers counting down with every beep of a machine. The realization hit him like a wave an eye-opening experience that shook him to his core.

He felt a deep irritation toward his own perspective. He had been lamenting, trapped in a mindset that kept people weak enslaved to their own desires.

But now, looking outward, he saw the pettiness in his prayers. He saw the complaints, the entitlement, the smallness of his own worries. He had been blind, a prisoner of his own expectations. And yet, here he was, given a chance that so many others never had.

He realized then that gratitude was not just a word, it was a practice, a way of living. Instead of asking for more, he should be acknowledging what he had. Instead of lamenting, he should be thankful that he was in a position to grow, to build upon his gifts.

The world had shown him its raw reality, and now he had a choice. Would he keep wishing for things he didn’t have, or would he embrace what was already his?

With a deep breath, he made his decision.

He would be grateful. He would be better. He would rise.

But gratitude alone would not be enough. He still had to navigate the city, the chaos, the temptations, the traps laid out for those who did not know how to move. He had to unlearn the lessons of selfishness and relearn the art of survival with purpose.

Everywhere he looked, he saw people chasing illusions. Fast pleasure, fast exits. The city did not wait for those who hesitated. It swallowed them whole.

He had seen it happen before. Friends who once had dreams now had addictions. Boys who once had futures now had police records.

But he would not be one of them. He would find a way. He would make his own path.

He thought of those in the hospital beds, their lives measured in beeping monitors. He thought of those with no limbs, who still smiled in defiance of their fate.

If they could find the strength to keep going, so could he.

The city whispered temptations in his ear, but he shut them out. His path was clear now. He had made his choice.

He would not just survive, he would thrive.