“Why would I accept crumbs as cake when there’s a whole platter of possibilities waiting to be explored” 

We live in a world where surviving gets rewarded with expected necessities like housing, finances, and structure just so you don’t fall apart. It’s almost as if we’re programmed to accept the daily hustle because if you’re not working hard you’re ultimately classified as lazy. Excuse me for being human and wanting to stop and breathe— rather than holding it in, hoping I don’t exhale too loud.

What if saying no equated to stepping into your power and no longer aligning yourself with doors that lead to dead ends and rooms with no ac? The whole time we’re walking in heat hoping for an ounce of a win, from a system that was never built for us. That’s like expecting water in a hot desert, only to be handed  your own spit because hey, that’s expected right? 

If you held a mirror up to your routine you’d probably see someone tied to a rope that holds a gold block that never moves. That’s what it feels like to work long hours and survive. You’re meant to live. You’re meant to go out in nature without worrying about bills. You’re meant to wear your favorite shoes instead of keeping on rain boots for a rainy day of emergencies and mishaps. If you walk in enough puddles you’ll eventually sink—like a rubber duckie with holes poked in it by the swords of survival. Who the hell wants to sink in muddy situations? I just imagined the sound of a pen dropping so I take that as no one wants to sink. You shouldn’t because drowning isn’t to be a golden token of just surviving.

Start asking for a pay raise because you are not accepting spare change as life changing funds. Start setting boundaries because you aren’t a buffet spot. Everyone can’t have a piece of you. Start anticipating happiness in a world that rewards dullness as maturity and scraping old gum under desks responsibility. This is not a pep talk where afterwards we eat pizza, do a b.s. toast and go back to surviving like the lobsters at Red Lobster. No, my friend —we’re taking our power back one barefoot step at a time. Okay, maybe not barefoot because there might be gravel. Or  worse—Legos. Ouch. Put your shoes back on and start walking away from survival dressed up as glittery grind and glamorized grounding. 

Remember in The Stone In The Sword where Arthur removes the sword from the stone effortlessly? Despite no one being able to fulfill this prophecy beforehand? That was like a cryptic message of recognizing your power and pulling the spikes that have been stuck in your back. Spikes that are tied to chains of fear and begrudgingly accepting less to be in the illusion that you’ll get more. Resentment is a funny feeling because it hides in a birthday cake that’s supposed to taste like joy. There’s a fervent joy in cutting your cake only to find out it’s strawberry with jelly filling. Sorry to all the strawberry lovers out there but honestly if it’s not chocolate or red velvet then who cares? Before we get into a cake war, this all stems from survival. You recognize that you deserve more, that you have the right to live a life of possibilities, but you assume that it takes hustle and burn-out to get that. When you assume then you’re doomed to tolerate survival like dressing on a salad just to be digestible. 

Today is when you stop feeling guilty for wanting more than survival. You put your foot down (With shoes on of course) and start walking away from structures that were built on straws and hot glue guns. You start recognizing your power in powerless structures and you reach for the stars. Or the time-sheet at your draining job so you can clock out—forever.

What will you do to stop the cycle of survival from spinning like a reversed Wheel of Fortune card?

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