Don't be afraid... it’s a saying that we all hear as kids, but just like so many other words and phrases, it's meaning is glazed over from overuse. There’s no way to truly understand the real meaning behind the words until the situation really calls for it. "Don't be afraid" is something that we expect to hear said to a small child considering jumping into the deep end of the pool. But this is real life, we grow up and the pool gets bigger and deeper, and no matter how hard we run from it, there's no escaping the inevitable.

And so the pool isn't something you’re just jumping into of you’re own free will, and it grows and deepens exponentially, to the point where there is no way you can turn a blind eye to it, or run away from it, no matter how hard you try.

So there you are, swirling around in this deep expanse, with no way to get out. So what is there to do?

You can’t stop swimming, that’s the game.

You stop swimming, then you end up losing it all, including yourself, you end up being pulled to the bottom, drowning. The thing is, you have to pull yourself back up to the surface when everything else is lost. You can't just give up. You’ve fought so hard to get to where you are, there’s no way you can give up now.

But that’s the thing, it’s hard. its one of the hardest things to do, to pull yourself back up to the surface, breach the water and gasp for air. And it feels like there’s nothing that could ever be worse, or harder, but there’s always a way to do it, there’s always a way to do the hard stuff.

You just need to trust yourself. Sometimes its the hardest thing to do when you end up in that pool alone, being dragged down, with barely anything to hold onto, with no one else to point the finger on put yourself. But you have to do it. You have to find the strength inside you, that eternal flame that will never go out no matter how hard the wind blows. And so it's dark, and its cold, and you’re alone.....

But don't be afraid

Don’t be afraid to trust yourself, don’t be afraid to trust others, don’t be afraid to do the hard things, don’t be afraid to let go, don’t be afraid of things that you have no control over, don't be afraid to feel

Don’t be afraid