Life and Waterways

2019 has been a year that life has fallen into place and I feel like I have found a part of me that I lost a long time ago. I have been many people during my 20's. Some of them I liked, some of them I didn't. It's kind of like being back in kindergarten and trying on different clothes but the outfit you wear the most is the one you love the best. It took me the best and worst of my 20's to find that girl, this wildflower that was as beautiful as she was headstrong. I missed her while she was gone. The one who dressed in vibrant clothes, the one who was not afraid to be herself no matter what other people thought of her. And when I tried to smother that flame that was in her so I could fit in, she stomped off and told me to call her when I was ready to reclaim my true self. Two years ago, I called her back and little by little; we have come full circle. Since then my life has changed in such a way that it has blown me away. I was afraid of so many things but now that I look back, I realise it was the power that I have in me that I feared because I thought it could be bigger than me and it turns out I was right. I was afraid of what I could do, the dark and the light. I did not want to allow myself to make mistakes even though it is apart of of the Being Human package deal. But what I have learnt about my mistakes these past ten years, it is that mistakes are the dynamite that can bring about positive change even in negative situations. Life is like water, we can scoop it up in our hands but we can't stop it from moving along. And when it moves along, we need to let go and flow to where the current is taking us. It could be through a jungle, down a waterfall, into the shallows, the long winding river or the middle of the ocean. There is one thing I have learned about the waterways of life and that is to find beauty and to take comfort in the fact that water never stops moving, because before long we can find ourselves in a new place. That new place can be a change of heart, a renewal of our mind and spirit, a time with or without, or a place where we can just simply be and enjoy what we have and dream of new life. At the beginning of the year, I went to my cousins second birthday party at Wynnum and I was having a little stroll along the jetty when I saw a sprout of a tree sticking out of the water. Despite the fact that it had grown from muddy shallows, this tree stood tall and proud above the water and I felt that the story of this plant is a good parable for when we feel like we have been marooned in the shallows of life. We can grow and flourish with grace and dignity, unashamed of where we had to be planted to grow. What I have had to remind myself time and time again, it is that it is okay to be afraid even if I have to be courageous. And where ever the waterways of life take me, I know that I can grow and rise above. - Sarah x