At LEAST two meltdowns… at *least*… I’ve just emerged from my 4th or 5th 😆
You know, I always get so sad when I see people start up on chasing their dreams, only to let them fade away. I think, “What are you doing?? How can you let this happen?? Just go for it!!”
…But then I remember how incredibly *hard* the chase is. It’s SO hard. You can’t go through it without getting crushed a time or two or ten or more. You just *can’t*. Because nothing worth having, comes to you without sacrifice—without stepping outside of your comfort zone, venturing into the *wild* and uncertain unknown, battling the monsters that lurk in the shadows of your mind and breaking a few bones along the way. Without losing some hair and lots of sleep, breaking your heart and twisting your guts. Without facing the cruel voices in your head, the ones that told you that you can’t do this, you’re not enough—especially that of the hag, Mrs. What’s-Her-Face, who told you your writing is crap, and thank goodness she met you, she needed someone to look down her nose at.
Yes. You have to face those fears and that darkness. You have to be brave. You can be afraid—of course you can!—but you also have to be *brave*. You have to be willing to fight, to go through many a meltdown and lots of glitter, and to stick it through—one step at a time, through the beauty and the hurt—all the way to the end, because those stars are all the way up there, and that’s simply what it takes to reach them.
But they ARE within reach! Whatever your dreams may be. As a sweet professor once said to me: You are not without hope. And the rough journey is what makes the victory so sweet! Facing down the monsters heals the wounds they created, and in their place, leaves behind light, joy and *meaning*.
Please don’t ever give up. It’s going to be worth it. It is! I promise.
Where Rose Writes Very True Stories 