there’s an old story about a phoenix rising from the ashes that we all know some version of. because of that, we associate strength with the Phoenix and other birds like her. she was able to overcome the fire (read challenges) of her life and rise above, stronger and more capable. I’ve known of her story for years, but here’s the part that I didn’t know until about a year ago. the Phoenix set her OWN nest on fire. read that line again, she set her own nest ablaze. 

her willingness to look at her current life situation, maybe it was oppressive to her or her dreams weren’t allowed to be realized, and make the choice to set fire to it is a bold move. she didn’t know at that moment of striking the match what the outcome would be, but she refused to stay stagnant in a situation that wasn’t serving her. I can only imagine that she felt big, paralyzing amounts of fear. I bet she stood in the mirror second-guessed herself. she may have even lit a match and then blew it out a couple times.

but I also bet there was a moment when she knew what she had to do, listen for that moment, y’all. the gift was that she learned how strong she was as she pulled away from the smoke and flames and flew higher and higher and higher.

we all feel fear. we all have things we know need to change. take a deep breath and think of the Phoenix, then act. feel the fear, do it anyway. she showed us we will not just survive the blaze of a big change but will learn just how amazingly strong we already are.

xo

jenni earle