“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask ‘What if I fall?’
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?” ~ Erin Hanson

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No one survives this life. No one.

This much is a given.

But not everyone even bothers really living.

This part is the biggest tragedy of all.

As the years pass, I find myself surrounded, more and more, by individuals who are just plodding through life.

One step after another.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

The wild sparkle of possibility inexplicably absent from their eyes.

Their shoulders drawn down by the weight of all they carry—regret, sorrow, anger, loss, complacency.

The absolute refusal to let in the light of the world.

Their eyes and heart closed off to all of the love ricocheting around in the cosmos, just waiting to be claimed.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

Loveless marriages. Soulless friendships. Days and nights without laughter.

It is far easier to let the world crush us, than it is to crush life’s challenges. It is easier to just take one step after another or to let the tides take us where they may. Or to simply sit down all together, and let life swirl around us—let life happen to us.

But we aren’t made for that simple way.

We are made to live—boldly, wildly, courageously.

We are made for greatness, and built for bravery. We are programmed to embrace vulnerability, and meant for sharing love—intentioned for harnessing light.

We are made for adventure and for mad love. Bound for nights of howling at the moon and swimming naked in the wild.

Our souls are light so that we may fly.

But, to soar—we must climb up the hills, transcend the valleys and scramble over scree fields to the edge of the world.

And then, we must jump.

We must throw open our arms and leap.

We must.

No one survives this life—but I intend to fly, every delicious second of mine.

Join me at the precipice. I’ll hold your hand and we can leap together.

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Relephant:

Oh Wild Soul, Don’t ever Stop Seeking Freedom!

 

Author: Jessica Chardoulias

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

Photo: Flickr/EladeManu