The Green Forest

Autumn is my favorite season. The crunchy leaves and crisp cool air refresh my mind and body after a long, humid summer. I run through a beautiful trail enjoying the trees, the silence, only hearing the sounds of the flowing creek. This is a meaningful place of peace that I run through often. But today, I come to a stop, I am taken by the beauty of nature. Natural beauty in an untouched space. Among the various shades of greens and browns that spread for miles in all directions sits a bright yellow flower. A single stem. Shining yellow. In a vast green forest. I am surprised, then amazed, then inspired. Inspired to write.

Why do I write? Why this blog? Why this title? Why now? I have asked myself the same questions. Writing is personal, writing is raw, writing is vulnerable, writing feels scary. But writing is a challenge, a challenge to be authentic, to be human, a challenge to sit with vulnerability, to challenge my fears, my doubts, my nagging thoughts of "what will people think?" And in the end, writing allows healing, writing feels courageous, writing brings connection.

I started writing at a time in my life when I felt disconnected, a time when I was struggling to feel acceptance and belonging. I began writing as a way to heal my mind and connect with my soul. I write to share stories, my stories, and universal stories. Stories of being human and feeling human. Stories that connect us.

As I stumble upon this shining single yellow flower in the great green forest, I smile, thinking of my writing, thinking that this is why I write. I write to tell the story of this flower. What this flower represents to me. I write stories of the strength it takes to stand tall in a sea of greens and browns. Stories of the courage it takes to be different in a place where you are not sure you belong. And the beauty of finding a way to accept yourself, and accept your story, just as it was meant to be.