Fear is an artist. Sculpting away our potential. Painting out possibilities based on past experiences, or worse. Moments we’ve yet to endure. It’s rough drafts has succeeded in tearing down homes where wolves could not. It has only been replicated by the tornado that brought Dorothy to the yellow brick road. Before it strikes again, I want to offer a possible rival for it to compete against. Its name is freedom.
Potential is a unique puzzle that can feel like a prison. In actuality, it’s a maze. With every praise others provide, your pedestal shrinks so that they can hold you under a microscope. More walls are placed between you and those whose insecurities aren’t properly verbalized. That’s when the paralysis kicks in. Some freeze, not wanting to take the chance of stepping in the direction of disappointment and failure. They rather stay close to where promises of great things to come was originally offered.
It’s not an easy task to walk away from how others imagine you to be. To be seen is what most of us really want and that’s one way to be noticed. Even, if you’re contorted into dancing to fear’s choreography. The spotlight is the only place where previous footprints are seen. If you become a better dancer, you can make the past mistakes that you, and those who’ve done this routine before you, look more refine. Then there’s the option of walking out of the light. Where there may not be any steps to follow, but a path that needs fresh feet to label it as their stepping stone.
At some point as babies there comes a voice that whispers the tales of ruined knees at the age of thirty. So we begin our journey of walking. It’s not graceful, nor is it successful, on the first few attempts, but we eventually succeed. That’s what happens when we try to achieve a goal or dream that we haven’t done before. We take a step, stumble, panic, fall, and get back up to try again. Let go of the walls that you use as a shield and start swinging your arms with confidence. Eventually, you’ll brush shoulders with freedom.
Movies and television shows may lead some to feel frustrated with themselves. How can characters resolve such devastating issues within a short matter of time? We attempt to replicate this with quick, easy solutions, and are met with as much defeat as those who build their homes out of sticks and straw. The layering of bricks for the road less traveled is long, but it builds character. The same character that builds enough heart, smarts, and courage, to achieve a foundation for a new home.
Growing up, I was moving from one house to the next, every few months. So I never really knew what a home was. It began my fascination with the term hiraeth. I labeled myself as a hiraethic dreamer and searched for what I pictured home to be. I believe many do the same with freedom. How do we lock hands with something we’ve only felt in passing, fleeting, moments? It’s as simple, yet complex, as any other puzzle may encounter. It’s to step away from expectations and climb on your own. When you finally make it out of the maze of potential, you’ll be left alone in an empty space. A space where you’ll be free to be who you are. Judgment will be held at a far enough distance where it’ll no longer affect you. If our bodies are temples, turn yours into a kingdom where happiness reigns within. To be happy with who you are, flaws and all, is what births a spirit free enough to overcome fear.
—Gotti
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