Life is a cage only Pain can unlock

          I hope everyone is having a safe weekend. Today is a very off and low day for myself, as was yesterday. These moments have allowed me much time to wonder of what is to become, what I can believe, and where I should lay my feelings or trust. We all long to see the sun shine upon our lives. To light our path and guide us through the days with warmth and radiance. What we do not put into perspective is that the truest light may only be seen in the darkness. We look to others for strength, acceptance, love. But we can not see the light that shines through the eyes of those who look dearly upon us until we are cast into the darkened recesses of our own fears or minds. We cannot see the true glow of anothers soul, if it is masked in sunlight. Time will change things. People will grow distant. Love may be lost or set free. Through the blinding tears we feel we have released these things from ourselves, that we may move forward. But to release all is not a blessing, it is rather a burden. To release all is to give the good with the bad. When things go down darker paths of loss or fear, we must look back upon those we have lost. We must turn inward to what they once gave us. We must remember, they may only have been there for guidance. They may only have been there to offer love, that we may see in ourselves what others see. They may only have been there to show us the reflection of our own true light. Though it is a painful process to watch friends, or those we find love for, go. It is also a necessary commitment to hold tight to what they offered. We may learn much from those moments. Their light that we saw and adored, may shine still even as it feels they have cast us into shadows at times. Those shadows are not a sign of weakness, nor of desperation. Those shadows are a gift. A gift of truth, for through the pain we endure in our lives, whether Transgender related, or otherwise, our true strength will come forth to open our hearts back up to the understanding of where we are for ourselves. Only through these shadows may our own light grow, feeding our soul in the darkness of that which we so often try to avoid. Do not give in to despair for that which you feel is lost. Instead, remember the lessons learned in those briefest of moments, where you felt loved in ways you may not have realized. Reach to those shining stars inside, taking hold of that light to guide your way to the next adventure and lesson life will have to offer. Our hearts grow, and sometimes sink. It is only a step in the direction of the path we must follow.