The View from Here

Sometimes I feel set adrift,

a castaway on an island in a sea of emotion.

Life is both painfully beautiful

and heartbreaking all at once.

Instead of floating weightless in emerald waters of gratitude for my many blessings,

I am tossed in the choppy waters of fear that it will all be taken away.

I long for a certain detachment,

to numb the uncertainty that beats in my breast.

I lift up a selfish prayer to the universe;

Please don’t take this away from me.

I look with knowing eyes;

there is no choice in what is given or taken away,

only space for gratitude, for acceptance.

Whatever we are given,

we have the strength to face it,

to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes of despair,

filled with understanding and determination

to treasure every precious moment of this life.