Fighting demons

 Jon thrash around on the floor, the shadows in his head scratched at his mind causing his body to writhe in torment. Everyone has demons, some are bigger and meaner than others and when your demons are the toughest demons around, then you have two choices die or become the new toughest thing around.

            Jon has had doubt since he was a small child, his personal demons were small but fierce. As Jon grew older he also grew stronger. The smaller demons that caused little things like doubt and anxiety were no match for his renewed strength and resolve. What Jon didn’t count on was that the shadows in his mind and his internal demons grew along with him. They had new sources of food and new ways to hurt him. They fed on his poor finances, loneliness and growing responsibilities. Every time Jon felt strong enough to get through the challenge in front of him there was always a second challenge waiting. Jon had been fighting his entire life, fighting challenges, inner demons and fighting to just stay alive. He was not above taking challenges head on, but a rest from fighting would be nice.

            On the outside Jon looked like a regular adult, handling his job and responsibilities but on the inside he was a savage warrior, struggling every day against larger and larger demons. He wished he could go back to the days when his demons only teased him about coming up with rent money. They seemed so daunting at the time, but now it seems like child’s play. Jon drew his spiritual sword and his shield of experience and would chop the heads off of dragons, demons and monsters as big as houses. The dragon’s head would always grow back, the demons would reappear from the shadows and the monsters would split into multiples. Every day he would fight against his doubt and fears, unrelenting, unwavering.

            Not every day was a victory, some days he would trample the opposition but most days he would not. He would fall and limp home bloodied and broken. He would have to rest quickly because the next day he would have to be stronger than before. The world insisted that when he fell broken to the ground, he needed to not just rest up to full strength, he needs to be double strength. Jon was used to fighting demons every day and as he grew stronger he also became better at hiding the fact that he was struggling at all. Anyone that knew Jon would be shocked if Jon told them of the war that raged on inside his head.

            To make matters worse, shadows of doubt would follow Jon to his sleep. Small imps that would normally be dispatched in seconds while he was awake, would follow him to his bed and taunt him as he tried to sleep. The imps knew they were no match for an adult Jon who had been fighting dragons all day, but if they disturbed his rest and tortured his dreams then he would be softened up for the fight against the dragons.

            When friends and co-workers saw his inner strength, when he showed them the steel in his soul and the determination in his eyes, they would be inspired and amazed. Jon had been complimented on occasion because of how strong he was. He didn’t see the strength because he was so tired from fighting all day. Jon did have that strength though, a strength he didn’t know he had. When times were their toughest, Jon would pull out that fighting spirit, the spirit of Jon that had been fighting dragons all day long, and he would pull the spirit into the real world. He wouldn’t be able to maintain the warriors spirit for long, but when it was unleashed all would take notice. If this fighting spirit was enough to fight demons all day, what chance did mere humans have?