When the past piles up so high in front your exhausted eyes—you can’t see straight anymore.

The stale scent of old memories hangs stubbornly in the air—sour, like moldy flowers.

The vibrant color, of their once-supple buds, long gone—replaced with droopy heads, leafy regrets and dark, breathless messiness.

You can’t think straight.

So you surrender to your heart’s gentle pull.

You fall to your knees.

In falling, in feeling, you see stacks and stacks of yellowed papers stuck to your skin—torn pages, tattered memories, unfinished chapters, chances you wish you took, love you may never understand, disappointment that stains your heart—and yes, brightly colored bubbles of sweet, sweet happiness.

These pages are sticky and thick, blocking the lemony light of the sun, preventing the soft kisses of the breeze from reaching your skin.

You can’t breathe under that staggering weight.

So don’t—

Clear it all away and begin again.

A fresh slate—your heart wiser, yet wiped clean, ready for new life—new messiness, beautiful new mouth-watering mistakes.

Don’t try to clear your heart’s thick, overgrown forest with a tiny, delicate hammer—it won’t get you anywhere.

Get sweaty.

Go deep.

You’ll need a jackhammer, some whiskey and a gallon of distilled courage to clear it all away.

And when you get scared—cry.

Let those snowy-capped tears of frozen fear, regret and panic land on your chin, like glittering crystals, and keep going.

Keep going.

Because you deserve to be free.

You deserve to write a brand new story, with fresh, brand new ink.

You deserve to begin again.

So begin.

You’ve already thumbed through the past’s lengthy pages a thousand times. You know the contents of your issues by heart—like a sponge, you’ve absorbed their truth, beauty and delicious, painful wisdom.

You don’t need to carry that weight anymore.

So don’t—

Let it go.

You can choose to let go.

You can choose to begin again.

Go outside on a windy, cold night—tears shining like stars in the corners of your eyes.

Throw the weight of the past to the whipping winds, like a million handfuls of sunflower seeds.

Watch it all blow away.

Let the breeze take your burdens.

Let the breeze take it all!

You don’t need it anymore.

Scream to the stenciled stars at midnight,

As the past lifts up from your bones, like layers of silk,

Revealing the raw, trembling treasure

Of your naked heart.

How it glistens, how it gleams!

Step out of that beautifully decorated cage of sticky stuckness,

You don’t belong there.

You belong in beauty, in truth, in life.

Step courageously into the dripping, ruby-red sunrise

Renewed, ready to breathe, for the first time,

Free—

Freedom.

Taste it!

This life is yours.

This story is yours.

What will you write?

Taste the sweetness of morning air,

Ripe with blooming bergamot possibilities, overflowing with unbreakable love.

Feel your heart beating, thirsty for this day,

Craving nothing but this moment.

Feel your soul spark to life,

Breathless, speechless—

On f*cking fire,

Burning beautifully

Just for you.

Yes—just for you.

Your heart is your pen,

Your soul is your canvas,

You are the juicy, exquisite masterpiece.

Anything is possible.

Get to it!

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Relephant:

Stop Chasing Happiness: Be Sad. Be Beautiful. Be Here Now.

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Author: Sarah Harvey

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

Photo: Flickr/Oakley Foxtrot