About 10 months ago, I wrote about a bright and shining woman, standing on a cliff, looking down at where she has come from, looking up at the future that may be.
Well, she is still on that cliff, but the view has changed.
For a start, the cliff is higher than before. Over time, solid blocks have been added below her feet, some from previously unknown sources. But each one adding strength, awareness, understanding and support.
The threads that bind around her waist are as strong as ever, holding her steady, helping to raise her up as each block is placed beneath her.
And they have been added to, by a myriad of people now aware, now angry, now determined to continue and extend the support, the raising up.
But, as this is real life, there have been attempts to slow her progress. Some, originating from the same old source of pain and anguish, have been dismissed, sidelined and stamped upon. But they have left scars.
Others have come from unexpected quarters, to add to the stress, the pressure, the unnecessary distractions. And they too bring their scars.
And yet, she stands proud. Because she has the strength to continue, through the exhaustion and pain. Because she knows who she is, and why she is here, and why she will move forward. Because there are those she cannot leave behind.
There are people who need her. They may not know it, and they may not know why, but there is something they need that only she can give them.
And there are those who will see her as an exemplar, as a designer of routes, up and out from under.
And the rest of us? We still marvel. We still cheer. We still hold tight to the threads, and double their strength, and double again.
We will never let go, I will never let go.
Not until she has reached her goal, wherever that may be. And even then we will keep hold, because the power she brings to herself, she brings to us all.
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