The Courage to Fall

There is courage in the falling, and beauty in what comes next.

---

By Jay Miller

An original poem about the courage it takes to let go, embrace change, and discover who we are becoming.

Becoming isn't always about changing who we are. Sometimes, it's about revealing who we've always been.

We begin as a trickle.

A quiet current.

Following a path we did not choose.

We learn to bend.

To blend.

To move around obstacles,

following the course

others have carved for us.

Taught to stay between the banks.

To know our place.

To keep our pace.

To never question the direction.

But who decided

that every river must run straight?

Some of us turn.

Some of us twist.

Some of us find ourselves

at the edge of everything

we were told we should be.

And we fall.

Not because we are weak.

Not because we are lost.

But because sometimes

the only way forward

is down.

And sometimes,

the world mistakes our falling

for failing.

But a waterfall is not a river defeated.

It is a river declaring

that gravity is not the enemy.

It does not ask permission

of the rocks below.

It does not apologize

for the thunder of its own becoming.

It falls.

It rises in mist.

It catches the light

and reveals colors

that were always there.

And so do we.

Not by following every current.

Not by fearing every edge.

Not by shrinking ourselves

to fit the banks

someone else has built.

We were never meant

to spend our lives

asking the river

where we belong.

We were meant to find our edge.

And have the courage to fall.