I was scrolling through Pinterest, hunting for outfit ideas for my friend’s birthday outing, when I stumbled on a quote that stopped me cold. It said, “Sad birds still fly.” Simple words, yet they hit me harder than I expected. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t really having a good day. Or because lately, I’ve been trying so hard to keep myself together that I forgot it’s okay to admit I’m tired.
It’s strange how you can be surrounded by so much laughter, good news and bright skies, yet feel like there’s a storm inside you that no one sees or maybe one you don’t want people to see. Even at that, you wake up, get dressed, smile at people, show up where you’re expected to be just like a bird that keeps flying even with a wounded wing.
Maverick’s quote pushed me to think of how we all try to hide our pain behind movement. We go to work, school, text our friends, post selfies, laugh at jokes but inside, we’re just trying to survive. Trying to prove that even if our hearts are heavy, we can still rise, still move, still be something beyond sadness
Well, it may be what makes us human. We don’t always need to be okay to keep going. Right? The beauty may not be in pretending to be happy but it’s in showing up, in taking a small step when your soul feels like it’s dragging. Like those broken birds, we keep flying because staying still would mean surrendering, and maybe we’re not built for that.
But can we really get past all these expectations of us as humans? Can we live? Just wake up and breathe without worry? Sometimes I wish I was in the wild. Living rent free. School free. Society free. Money free.
Since I’m not one of the critters, I guess I’ll feel the ache but still move through it. There’s something profoundly courageous about that right?
Well if you’re like me and have been having one of those days when nothing feels right, when you don’t even recognize your reflection or your own energy, remember that Maverick said “even sad birds still fly”.
