Part I – written in 2004
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Or not.
What people say can be the truth. It can also be their view on the truth and there’s ofcourse the possibility of it having nothing to do with the truth. What I speak is the truth. If I was to exaggerate – then I would only fool myself.
My name is Anders Ström and I was born on 1 July 1980. I was raised in a middle class family with christan values. Mom and dad taught me of the life with God and Jesus and my brother taught me about Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. In perfect harmony I found a sound and balanced view on life somewhere in between those teachings. My faith in God means everything to me and the love for art is something I will treasure till I die.
After college I went to study at university and since the only thing I wanted was to move away from home I didn’t think much about what to study. I studied IT-economy for 3 years. The next time I didn’t think before planning my future was when I applied for my first full time job. Dad had seen an add in a newspaper. I got the job as “auditiors assistant” and started a week after that. I was back in the same place where I grew up.
During the years that followed things started to go in a direction I didn’t really EXPECT. That’s life however and it can happen. To ACCEPT it is a another thing. I felt the job I did was important but it didn’t really stimulate my creative side. The place I lived was not what I longed for but I felt I had obligations to people around me, and that I had to stay. Basically, I was one with the thought of being caught in something I just couldn’t get out of. Like ever. I started compromising with my view on life and limited my plans for the future to my absolute surroundings. I wasn’t even twenty-five but I felt closer to fifty-five. The only thing really that felt exciting was buying stuff because at least something different came along with new things. Or so I would tell myself.
At some point during this time I stumbled upon a person on the internet. Like me, she lived in a small town but her perspective was a different one. She didn’t mind living for the day and made plans for things I thought of as crazy. She would often ask: “If it is crap for you, why don’t you just get away from it?”. My answer would be quite simple: “I can’t because circumstances say I can’t”. I wasn’t putting up a defence here. This was absolutely what I felt.
One day after work I was reading an interview with musician/composer Kevin Moore of Chroma Key. Now, this is someone I’ve always admired to the point of it being almost rediculous. He was in a band a long time ago and decided to follow his heart and quit just when they were about to make it real big. He moved from one place to the other (L.A., New Mexico, Costa Rica, Turkey etc) and the guy making the interview was fascinated that Kevin dared to walk out of the band he was in. He couldn’t understad how and had to ask. Kevin’s answer was quite simple but the words he said would change me forever: “Perseverance is over-rated! Quit yor job today!”.
Wow! How easy – but could I really? I figured my Goliath was dad. I was pretty sure he’d crush me like a worm when I told him. One day we were out driving when I started telling him about my feelings. He listened to me saying that I felt trapped and so on, and then he said two things: “You are not trapped because there’s nothing you can’t do!” and “…start making plans today for a new beginning”. I did just that.
I left my apartment. Sold most of my things. Told the people at work I was going to quit by the end of the season. I had been on the roads to madness – but suddenly I was on another path and leading in another direction.
Today I have other dreams. I dream of adventure and excitement. I dream of making a difference in the world I live in. The need of personal growth goes hand in hand with the desire to help other people. Now, I pray that this change is forever because I can’t remember feeling this free.
So many people inspired me along the way so that I one day could realise I had courage myself to take a leap of faith, gather strength and turn my life around. Therefore I document my journey through life on this website. It might entertain, encourage and maybe educate you. And trust me – it might even save You.
This is the Road From Madness.
Part II – written in 2010
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Or not.