When I first came, with my fragile and vulnerable agenda, so heartfelt and full of intention and promise, I opened up to listen, to hear, to consider and contemplate.
When I first came, with open mind and open ears and seeking soul, I was thirsty and hungry but only for the healthiest of morsels, the richest bits, a tapas of unsampled tastings.
And so I listened. I contemplated and considered, I tasted, purposefully, the offerings. And now I'm finished.
I leave here with my agenda, crumpled and smudged but still intact, and still held tightly; with my intention still active, my hunger and thirst still present, and my focus only sharper...and I leave not unfulfilled though - for I have seen things new, fresh, and uncovered that I can reframe for my agenda - I have new questions, new challenges, and even a new place to begin...
I won't give up. I have miles yet to travel and places to explore, but I leave here because this place is not the place for me to safely do so. I leave because I know the safe place is out there still, and I deserve to find it. I leave because I can... Because I am free to do so, because I have the choice. I leave because in the sifting out, I see the fluff and the chaff that belongs to the wind, and I see the hearty bits that belong to me. Those are the bits I hold carefully and keep from harm, those are the bits I carry forward into the next safe places.
