Crow and Flame

Sometimes I get terrified for no reason.

The fear creeps in quietly, and before I know it, I’m telling myself stories that aren’t true.

You’re not good enough.

Why bother?

Stop before you make a fool of yourself.

Those thoughts can feel convincing. They make me want to stay where it’s safe, where I can’t fail, where no one can judge me.

But then I remember something important.

No one is born with experience.

No one begins as an expert, an artist, a writer, a speaker, or a creator.

Experience isn’t something we’re given. It’s something we build.

We forge it through dedication.

Through failure.

Through small victories that no one else sees.

Through mistakes, lessons learned, and trying again.

One foot forward.

Then another.

Every person we admire once stood where we are now—uncertain, afraid, wondering if they were enough. The only difference is that they kept taking the next step.

So today, I choose to do the same.

I choose to challenge myself to grow.

To create.

To do things I’ve never done before.

To put myself out there despite the fear.

Not because I’m fearless, but because courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s deciding that fear doesn’t get to write the ending.

Maybe you’ll watch this little crow take flight with trembling wings.

Maybe you’ll see that they’re shaking and fly anyway.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find the courage to spread your own wings too.

We don’t have to soar perfectly.

We just have to be willing to leave the branch.