Joseph Campbell wrote that we must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

I love this quote, and to the best of my ability, I have lived it. I did not know the extent to which I could change my life, and change the narrative of my life. I changed the story of me, and cast aside the life I had planned and that was planned for me, so that I could have the life that was waiting for me.

And it was waiting for me, it was right there, within my grasp all of the time. It took me a long time and a lot of hard and unrelenting and painful work to find it,  but I learned that the story of my life is mine to tell.

I walked away from the people who did not care for me and did not love me and did not nourish or support or uplift me, and they were right there, waiting for me.

I shed the loveless and restless and unfulfilling life I was leading, and set out to find real love and change my story, and it was right there, waiting for me, right across the road.

I got rid of the idea that I was broken and sick and afraid and unworthy, and opened myself to the life  that was waiting for me, it was right there, it was right at my fingertips, under my nose, just outside the door. I opened the door and the life that was waiting for me must walked right through the door.

I got rid of anger and lament and envy and told a story of life in the present, full of purpose and the struggle for good

Brothers and sisters, I cannot  tell you what to do, or make you do what I do and did. We are all responsible for our own lives. But consider the story of your life that is in your head, and consider the narrative in your life that was planned for you. And if you don’t like it, or are afraid or despairing.

I learned that pain is inevitable, but that fear and suffering are a choice. Hope is sustaining.

St. Augustine wrote that fear is the loss of love.

Aristotle wrote that “the coward, then, is a despairing sort of person; for he [or she] fears everything. The brave man, on the other hand, has the opposite disposition; for confidence is the mark of a hopeful disposition.”

The strength to have the life that is waiting for is the very core of hope. I got rid of the life I planned so as to have the life that was waiting for me. Here it is.

(The above photo, is for sale for $130 unframed, and on rag paper. You can contact [email protected]) or buy the photo on etsy.