I’ve always taken my own path. I like the fresh, uncharted dirt beneath my feet, the barren terrain of land not crossed by others. Yes, as Michael would say, I lived in the clouds, a world of my own, but he never tried to change that, and in all honesty, I think it’s one of the things he loved so much about me. It’s the Christopher Columbus in me, which did lead me to him to begin with.
After Michael died though, I forgot about this land, the trail of life I was blazing. Soon my life became consumed by the “What would Michael want me to do?” I had lost my inner compass, my sense of direction, and leaned on Michael to show me the way.
This sustained me for a little while, but I felt Michael fading more in presence.
Then it hit me. How or why would I feel his presence and guidance when I was losing and forgetting that I was my guide all along. I was losing me, in this pursuit to let go of my steering wheel, hold my hands up and expect for there not to be a crash.
Once I realized that to continue on my journey to him, my journey through this life without him, my journey, I had to reclaim that girl that “lived in the clouds”. That girl that had a machete in one hand to cut her way through an alien world.
I’ve found her. Piece by piece, new and old me’s, gleam beneath the gravel of life they’ve been hidden in.
It feels good. To have that compass inside of me working. It feels good to know that at the end of my pioneering this life before me I’ll be with my soul mate.
I remembered that the only phrase I needed to ask myself the whole time, “What would Taryn do?” and it’s a phrase that has brought his loving presence back into my life more powerful than ever.
There is great meaning in life for those who are willing to journey.
-Jim England