Awake, fresh eyes crack. It hurts for just a second as dawn’s light washes me.

After a long, walking sleep, I’m relieved to see the sun again. “Felt like night forever,” I say to her with a bittersweet mix of thanks and regret. “Thank you for waking me.”

The monsters lurking in my room transform before me. They were but a coat flung carelessly over a chair. A house plant. A stack of magazines. It all seemed so real.

Yesterday’s story fades into hazy memory, only its fingerprints remain. I wipe them from the mirror and comb bits of eggshell from my hair.

Prisms in my window take apart the light and present me with every color. They speak to me of metamorphosis.

And what is metamorphosis if not that? Taking apart who you thought you were and building something more, using the very same pieces you started with.

My new story begins today. I will tell it through the words of love until the world reflects love back to me. Then, I will tell it again. @ralph_leslie (Click to Tweet!)

Even as I leave the warmth of this cocoon, I will not be lost easy. I will envelope myself with the peace that stirs inside me now.

I place a hand over my heart and feel it tap a beat for my gentle, lilting step.

Bending, I release the ache of stiff, sleeping limbs. I give my eyes time to remember how to see in the light. And, balanced on tattered toes, I point myself to Venus and Mercury just before they disappear into the blue sky. My wings unfurl around me.

What if I sank smiling when doubt said I should? I wonder.

Tenderly, I remind myself that clear transcends obsession.

But who am I to speak these words in the face of ought and overthought? What is truth and what I dare?

Human, I suppose. That’s got to be enough by now.

Leslie Ralph is a psychologist, writer, and artist who hopes to leave the world a little brighter than she found it.  Her people are creative, sensitive spirits who crave love and peace, inside and out. Leslie is the author of There, I Might Find Peace: Poetry and Prose, Mantras and Meditations for Peace, Love, and Strength. Download her free gift, a ritual for receiving, a daily ritual for bringing more love and light, clarity and confidence, meaning and connection to your life. You can follow Leslie on Facebook or Instagram.

Image courtesy of Jessica Felicio.