Renaissance

Photo credit: Kamilė Kvaukaitė

Here comes the sun, here comes the rain. We're standing in the eye of a hurricane. 
Polar opposites, the sun and the rain. The wind being the release or destruction of each of them. When the sun mixes with the wind, there is relief. When the rain mixes with the wind, there is a storm. For the last 6 months, I've been stuck in a storm in the midst of a vast ocean, expected to sink or to swim. The cold air bites at my skin, the lightning rips off my shield, the thunder lashing out on the world as I struggle to keep my balance. Waist deep into the unforgiving waves of the water I go, arms flailing, heart heavy until the strain in my neck surrenders my body.

Adaptation. That is what all species thrive on. I've been pushed and tested beyond all of my limits. Obstacles have been thrusted in front of me mercilessly. I stripped myself of everything I identified with for a dream that matters. A dream that could add value to the lives of others, those of whom I know and especially those of whom I don't. I am content with that. I am living and willing to fight for those who have yet to find the strength to fight for themselves. Those with big dreams, big goals, things that they want to achieve in their lives but are put down for their beliefs, shunned for thinking and acting differently to the norm. The constant battle of being who you are and who the world wants you to be is endless. 

I have watched people walk in and walk right back out of my life. I have faced mockery and felt humiliation but not once have I denied who I am to myself, my family or the world. The judgemental eyes of others no longer affect me. The cries of doubt that they shout from the roof tops of their abandoned homes are merely echoes that are too far away to comprehend. The sniggers of those who wonder where I am or what I have done with my life are drowned by the waves of my success. I smile at the shock on their faces as they read this. I laugh at their thoughts as I rise from the ashes they tried to bury me in. Most importantly, I condemn them. I condemn anybody and everybody who speaks ill of those who dream to do only good in this world. 

From a delicate cub to a tiger who sways, a lion who roars, an elephant who stumps. I'm ready to take on the world and everything in it. Adaptation, it's a detrimental source of power, the scrutiny between success or failure. 

I can see the sun rising, fighting against the clouds who strive to hold her back. Like the force of the rain and wind in unison, she is unstoppable.