The Sacred Cost of Growth

Sinking into plush softness, threads of connection dance around me.

One by one, I touch them all—feeling, confirming, assessing.

I’m struck equally by the new arrivals and the old stalwarts.

None are taken for granted, but all make perfect sense.

Like Yuki with a toy in her teeth, a satisfied smile spreads.

———

Growth has a funny effect on those connected to you.

Some will sense change, yet be unable to name what’s new.

Many won’t notice a thing, forever viewing you as you once were.

And few, the most precious few, will clock your transformation instantly.

———

The candles around, sparkling like diamonds in the night, aren’t burning for or delighting me alone. The walls are leaning towards their warmth too. The stars peek through the skylights, recognizing their earth-bound kind. The moon tips its hat.

The candles burn for connection too—each anchored to a unique point in the world.

Some flicker, flare, and gutter.

Many burn small, yet strong and steady.

And few, the most precious few, blaze eternal.

———

Growth demands the shedding of what’s old before the construction of what’s new.

Think of your muscles outgrowing your clothing’s capacity, a developing skill requiring greater challenge to be properly tested, or a snake shedding its skin.

So you’ll need to part ways with clothes that no longer fit, find new arenas that test and push your edges, and build a new identity that aligns with who you’ve become.

Not everyone can keep up. 

Not everyone will choose to.

This is the way of the road.

Some find growth in those around them confronting and triggering. You become a mirror for what they cannot find within themselves to do, much as they may want to.

Many will take inspiration in your journey, perhaps following in their own way.

And few, the most precious few, will feed your fire with their gasoline.

———

My fingers dance through the air, flashing purple, pink, blue, and gold.

An involuntary sigh sings softly from between my lips.

I sink deeper into the plush softness, remembering: 

You cannot control the actions or capacity of others. 

You can only meet others as deep as you’re both able to go.

Rushing creates distance. 

Grasping causes collapse.

You can only let yourself blaze, and welcome those who come  to sit around your fire.

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander