Something Akin to Love

It is okay to go slow

Something Akin to Love; 12” x 46” x 1.75” Collage Art Painting by Crystal Marie

Life is a cobblestone path.
It will lead you to
many things through which
you might grow.

But after 2 or 3 or 10 times,
you may see it as a
warning sign, whenever you feel
something akin to love.

It is okay to go slow.
In the meantime, sit here
beneath this tree and
listen to your own heart.

Just as a bird knows
when to spread its wings
after it has been stunned
by a pane of glass
it did not see,

You will know
when you are ready
to take flight.
You will know,
you will know,
you will know.

©Crystal Marie; Something Akin to Love

In the journey from the head space to the heart space, we encounter set backs and obstacles in our path that convince us it is absolutely not worth trying. It is too risky without some sort of guaranteed outcome. Much safer to sit here and dream, or so our nervous system will tell us.

Maybe it’s actual romantic love, maybe it’s something you’ve always hoped to achieve, maybe you already tried a few times and failed. Whatever it is that your heart is longing for, the inner critic has perfectly crafted a heart shaped shield, woven together from those old painful messages and limiting beliefs. So personalized in its design, we don’t even realize it’s there.

Fear doesn’t always present itself as fear. It distracts us with busyness and practical matters. It has a calculator in one hand and a stopwatch in the other. You are not avoiding, you are simply accepting reality. There is not enough time, not enough money, not enough energy, not enough talent, not enough support, not enough. not enough. not enough. And besides, haven’t you been down this road before?

Barreling through that fear is a sure fire way of getting knocked right back off your feet again. Fear is an avid score keeper, haunting you with old memories as evidence to the folly of what your heart wants you to know: You are enough. And you are not alone.

Courage doesn’t dare you to ignore those old warnings. Courage beckons you sweetly to remember the experience you achieved in the trying. It holds your hand and the hand of your deepest knowing. It is okay, courage whispers, go slow. Rest when you need to, sit here and just breathe.

Listen deeply, it is the sound of your own voice calling you home.

Crystal Marie, Deeper is a reader-supported publication. To receive first draft excerpts of my new book as I write it and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

---

Yesterday was my 58th birthday and this one hit me more than any of my 50something birthdays to date. Not in that way of dread or the impending doom of the middle years that came when I hit my later 20s and 30s milestones, but in the way of curiosity.

With more miles behind than before me, I feel more authentically myself than ever and I sense the next year will be one of emerging from the cocoon of metamorphosis into the fullest winged version of myself.

Thanks for being such an important part of my journey through art and life.

With love and gratitude to you all,

Crystal Marie