There’s a quote my mom once explained to me years ago. I wanted to understand it, to see it the way she did, the way she wanted me to see it. I couldn’t quite grasp it, though. Years later, I have begun to comprehend the 33 words.
“An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.”
While there are undeniably devastating things that happen throughout life, an individual ultimately has the ability to fight, to drain the ocean, to turn in the light. Certain things will hit us like a massive tsunami or a wildfire, and we are more than allowed to be impacted. We can’t let that dictate the rest of our lives, though. We can’t end everything there.
Each person is born with the ability to control the light within their life. Some have more of a grasp on this than others, but each does have it within them. We can all let the room lay dull and dark, cold and stale. We have the ability to let it all rot. Leaving the lights off is most often the easiest and tempting option. We also have the ability to get up and turn them on, though. Whether it’s slowly or rapid, we can make things better. We can.
It isn’t easy. It is probably one of the most difficult things in life, actually. Picking yourself off the freezing tile and walking on your aching legs to get to a metaphorical light switch can seem so utterly pointless. It’ll be so tempting to give up once it doesn’t happen instantaneously. You can’t, though. Promise you won’t. Promise yourself that you won’t give in. You deserve more than that, you deserve a chance again.
You have the ability to control the light that shines in and out of your body, your life. Use it wisely.
Porcelain Prose 