"Like a bird. I'll only fly away"

A gift I didn’t ask for. A gift I don’t want. A gift I still won’t want. Still, I ask for the strength to live with what I never asked for. Sure, this is going to go on: the meaning I can bring to humankind, the thing I have always been about, the meaningful value I can offer, and the “me” this can become. But all that matters is your presence, the aura you carry, and the relief you give to anyone in discomfort, or worse, by making them feel that it will all be well in almost no time. This matters to me because my heart, my mind, and my gaze automatically look toward people like you.

Feel good about choosing what keeps you steady, flexible, and rooted, like bamboo. There may be more you want to do, whether for the first time or once again. Talk it through with your beloved, and listen to your intuition where it feels clear. Look at your options in relation to your priorities. A SWOT analysis can be genuinely useful here, because it helps you understand what is possible, what is risky, what supports you, and what may hold you back as you move forward. You don’t want unnecessary weight. Some may remain, especially after all the effort you have already made to avoid too much of it. Don’t you forget that you are the one who will carry and lead the life you are shaping, so stay open to the best possible outcomes. Keeping something alive is different from keeping it within academic limits, so it is good that you are thinking about that distinction. If certain publishers, formats, or styles have inspired and shaped you, list them. For example, Pearson has a visually appealing and verbally refined style. Use the time you have now to reduce that familiar blank-slate feeling later. As always, build a list of your strongest resources and shortlist them well in advance. Start early, before the official beginning.

The constant conversations, the continued efforts, the waiting, and the research went on until the last domino finally fell and the outcome stood in front of us. An unusual beginning found its way to a happy ending. There could have been more, yes, but the final result was the best one we could have reached. We are good. It closed the way it needed to, i.e. with relief.

The body is usually the first to show when something has gone past its limit. A signal appears, and when it is ignored, it can eventually become the corollary of that neglect. Identifying that signal before it becomes a breaking point takes effort. It asks for listening, release, thought, awareness, and attention. There are moments when you keep giving more than you should, hoping your effort will finally be received with care. There are also moments when you are already too worn down to feel relief fully, because the breaking point has come too close. How did you expect equanimity?

Why should today ask me to stay,

When I had planned my little flair?

I waited long to step away,

Then found the place too harsh to bear.

Don’t say a ride could still be found,

That was never quite the plan.

I’d reach when joy had left the ground,

To wash some plates and stare again.

Don’t ask my will to walk that far,

So many kilometres, pal.

Frustration burns like a small red star,

Then fades when sense becomes morale.

I raged at love for one rare trip,

A blue-moon chance I thought was mine.

“I’ll wait,” I breathed through losing grip,

“It’s been so long since things felt fine.”

I should have left the day before,

Where every journey could begin.

The city had closed every door,

And open nature waits in shine.

The road was found by hands unsure,

A raging pal with changing ways.

I knew their storm, yet blamed my cure,

And lost myself inside the haze.

The travel worked, the road was clear,

But health had something else to say.

With sneezing, wheezing drawing near,

My wiser self pulled me away.

The money lost was not the wound,

Nor all the plans that had to bend.

A surprise still waited, softly tuned,

More worth than forcing roads to end.

But fog can lift when pauses start,

Even doubt can clear the sky.

I blamed too much on my own heart,

When truth was standing by.

Then even my specs escaped my sight,

For the world that softly planned

To dim one road and turn the light

Back to the peace already in hand.

So let me set that thought aright,

And not call care a hidden attack.

Home can hold my little light,

And bring my scattered spirit back.

The quirky things I saved to wear outside

Can still be worn with grace.

If nature made me step aside,

Bliss may still find me in this place.

Believing in something can feel good by itself, and holding onto it makes it one of the most genuine forms of relief you can ever witness. Natural optimism?

Anyway, you are a minimalistic spark, and you can be here in front of these lovely little beings: 🐈, 🐦, 🦩(the emu though…standing tall after losing his family and peeps). 🦋, 🐜, 🌳, 🪴, ⚘, 🌻, 🌹, 🌺, 🌲, 🌿, 🌾, 🌴, 💧, 🌦, 🌩, 🌝, 🌙, and 🌤.