Today. I. Lived. Waterfalls. Volcanoes. Mountain hikes. Black sand beaches. Cliff walks. Hidden people homes. The North Atlantic. Beauty everywhere.
It marked my 9th Alive Day. 9 yrs ago I ran from an apt bldg fire & lost nearly everything. I almost didn’t make it. At the time, it was the worst day of my life. Now I see it as 1 of the best. That was the start of my journey toward wholeness & healing I didn’t think was possible.
If you told me then that 9 yrs later I’d be in Iceland, a country forged by fire, researching a 2nd book & living a life I never dared imagine, I wouldn’t have believed you. The journey was intense. I had to look at the ugliest parts of myself & not flinch.
I had to learn to stand in my light in my darkest hour. I couldn’t have done it without my wizard of a therapist. He gave me the map & walked beside me every step of the way. I stumbled a lot on that road, & every time I got up & kept going I grew stronger, braver, steadier.
It was in the falling down & getting back up that I learned. It’s how I rebuilt a life that was better than the one that burned away. That journey is the toughest one I’ve ever taken. It made me fearless. It gave me purpose. It showed me grace.
There’s no way I can ever say thank you enough for the gifts I’ve found along the way. All I can do is pay it fwd. That’s what I’ve done for 9 yrs. It’s what I’ll continue to do every day of every year I have left. And I’m grateful for the opportunity to do so.
So if you’re going through something dark that feels difficult to survive, just know you can. We are so much stronger than we think we are. I believe in us.
Christa Avampato 