Once upon a time there was a whisper, a wish really, running in the back of my head: “Surely there must be something better than this?” I was like a bird captured in a trap, struggling until my body was breaking and I was completely exhausted. And I was still in the freaking trap.
Once upon a time I simply couldn’t continue, and the whisper became a declaration: “I will believe there is something better than this even though that doesn’t even seem possible.” I went all in. I walked away for the first time, and I began to dismantle my life, piece by painstaking piece.
Things got worse.
And worse.
The forest, the cave, whatever you want to call it, it was so dark. And the journey was so slow. And I was afraid, and I doubted.
One of my greatest fears over the last several years has been that it would all be for nothing. That I wouldn’t be able to change myself or my life. That there really wasn’t anything better. That all of the time and effort and my suffering and other people’s suffering, that all the sacrifices I was making, would be fruitless. That my lifelong belief that more is possible for us than we realize would be proven wrong. That in my struggles, I’d end up making everything worse, and then I’d have to live with that.
I was afraid, and I clung onto my belief that I didn’t even really believe in like it was a lifeline. There must be something better than this. And I can do this. I will do this.
I won’t give up, I’ll keep going forward no matter what.
When I think back on 2014 in the future, I will remember it as a difficult year, yes, but I will also remember it as the year I left that cave.
Last month, I wrote about being stuck, and I said: “I’m not waiting for doom to fall down onto my head like an anvil.” I looked at that sentence after I wrote it, and I thought, “Oh shit. Oh shit. That is actually true. I don’t feel like that at all.”
What has changed? I have learned how to prioritize taking care of myself, and as a result, I no longer feel powerless. I don’t take on other people’s problems. When a person repeatedly treats me poorly, I don’t deal with them anymore, and honestly, I don’t care who it is. Because I deserve better than that, and I can have better than that. I work hard to surround myself with people who not only care about me but who are actively good for me. I come home to my lovely apartment with my sweet little dog and my piano and my books and my bathtub and my warm blankets, and for the first time in my life, I feel safe.
So now I know. There was something better the whole time, and I know because I’m living in it.
I’m so relieved. I’m so grateful.
The Practical Free Spirit 
I love this.
Couldn’t be more pleased for you. Taking control of your own life, and not letting be trampled on by others is one of the most important things to learn, but often difficult to implement for a caring person like you
Congratulations!
Loved this post so much. Thank you for sharing it. When I read about you being stuck, and struggling to leave the “cave,” I instantly saw it as you as being in an egg and then finally busting through the shell… And I’m so happy for you.
So… Why, as I sit here feeling stuck, sickeningly STUCK… do I see myself in quicksand in a dark cave? Thank you again for sharing what you have and I’m so grateful to have read it!
One day at a time. One foot in front of the other.
Xo