Listen. What do you hear? Birds? Traffic? Voices? What about your own heartbeat? Your gut? Or that voice in your head you try to quiet? What do you hear and more importantly what do you listen to?

You aren’t good enough. You need these meds. You should be different. You are arrogant. You aren’t strong enough. Lies. Do you listen to the lies? After while you begin to believe them. You become them. And your heart, gut and head are silenced, muffled over the noise. You turn around, swimming with the current . It’s quieter than trying to fight upstream. And you join the masses. Lost.

Somewhere along the way you are jostled. What the fuck is this? Change? Um no. I’m happy being….wait who am I? What have I allowed myself to become? Shhhh….don’t. No don’t!! Don’t turn around. Go with the flow. But did you see that back there? That spark?

Pettiness, cruelty, fear and complacency get licked by flames. They soon are reduced to ashes. In their place are raging flames. Flames that make you open your eyes. You fight the current. The noise growing louder.

You are in over your head. You need help. You are hated. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. With each stroke against the current, your heart begins to beat. Louder and louder. Soon it is joined by your head and gut. They are the flames and they rage in unison over the droning voices of the masses.

Fight. Be true to yourself. You are Gods child. Be kind. Find yourself again. And never conform. Never fucking conform again.

You step onto the shore. Feet grounded on the earth. Approaching the fire, your fire within you smile.