Shrinking

Chapter 2 of Where The Wind Takes Us

First I want to say WOWWW, thank you SO much to everyone who shared and wrote me about Chapter 1 last week. Making art and knowing that it resonates with others, is both exactly why I do it, and also the sweetest surprise.

Please enjoy Chapter 2:

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Shrinking

Day after day, Red tries her very best
To finally be seen,
To standout from all of the rest.
She puffs herself up and floats up high
She stands in the sunlight to catch someone’s eye
But they walk right past her and pay her no mind
Soon Red starts to wonder:
“What makes me one of a kind?” 

The more she looked around
The more she could see, 
All types of balloons that she could never be:
Hearts, suns, moons, and stars,
Balloons twisted into flowers and cars
There are numbers and letters in every style
Princesses and Superheroes that make everyone smile.
But Red is no special character you’d recognize
And unlike the confetti balloons 
She didn’t come with a fun surprise.

“No wonder they look at me and say:
‘Too small, too big, 
Too dark, too plain’
They want balloons with more to bring
But I’m all empty and uninteresting.”

Not quite ready to give up
Red floats back and forth, thinking for hours
What if she joined the tall arches, 
Or the colorful balloon towers?
If she wasn’t enough just on her own
If she was too simple to stand out, 
She could try fitting in––
Maybe that was the way out!

Her new plan was uncomfortable
But she wasn’t afraid to change
To do whatever was necessary
Even if it felt strange.
So she sucked some of her air in,
Until it made her body small
But these guys were tied so tightly
There was no room for her at all.

By now Red was so tired
She had stretched herself thin.
She felt lost and deflated––
“When will my life begin?”

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Reflection Prompts:

Red looks around and sees "all types of balloons that she could never be.”

1. Where does comparison show up the most in your life? And what qualities has it convinced you don’t belong to you?

"Too small, too big, too dark, too plain."

2. What does your inner voice say about you? Write down the most critical dialogue you hear often inside your head. Then, write a letter to yourself from Love. See what it has to say.

Red wears herself out trying to stand out, then trying to fit in.

3. Where are you performing instead of being yourself? Where do you self-abandon, even in small ways that society seems to reward. How would it feel to stop trying and be accepted for who you are?

“When will my life begin?”

4. Red is looking for external proof of her uniqueness and value before she can truly live. But the truth is they are innate. What would change if you stopped believing you need to earn your value to start living the life you want? What is one small thing you can do today to claim your space in your own life?