Now Entering Chapter 32
"Make a wish and blow out your candle."
I had just finished the last page of Chapter 31 in another country, surrounded by some of the most talented creatives I've ever met. Chapter 32 was staring me dead in my eyes. A blank page waiting for the first drop of ink to hit it and I had everything I ever wanted. What more could I possibly wish for?
There I was in Miami, just hours after waking up in another country on my 32nd birthday, right on the heels of an unforgettable trip of a lifetime. I've never been one to stay in the past too long. However, that day I did reflect. I remembered two years prior, waking up in a cabin house in the mountains, surrounded by snow and one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever laid my eyes on. Serenity. That was all I felt around me. A sense so strong that I thought that if I inhaled deep enough, it would flow into me.
It didn't.
Have you ever looked into the mirror only to see a complete stranger staring back at you? I have. There used to be a dimming light inside of me, growing fainter and fainter by the moment. Being devoured by hopelessness and sorrow. I made the decision to blow it out. And in front of me now was a single candle, a single flame, reaching for whatever air it could get to stay alive. Fire needs oxygen to burn... to grow... to be. That's when it hit me. In front of me was me... my old reflection, that stranger looking back at me. But this time starring back at it was the real me. The me that was left when I blew that light out two years ago. And there I was surrounded by more love and support than I could have ever dreamed of. Serenity. That was all I felt around me. Just as I felt two years prior. Only this time it was overflowing inside me and the light from my new flame was illuminating from me. I knew what I wanted.
A week ago today, I made a wish and blew out my candle.
Congratulations!
Another trip around the sun
Chapter 31 was amazing
When I think of all I've done
You created timeless art
Traveled around the world
And that's just the start
But this Chapter is still unknown
It's sure to be different
But special all its own
Can you see the glow
The light burning inside me
For it told me so