i looked up and everything was different

it's like being newly birthed. a fledgling bud, a new leaf, a fresh gray hair that made itself known for the first time.

it's like crawling out of a self-inflicted cage and destroying it completely. watching its shreds fly into the wind. seeing its pieces turn into embers. its smoke giving off an aroma of alabaster. a smoke seen by the Pharisees when she weeped that day at the feet of Jesus. a smoke which stifled many as she dared to touch the robe of One who believed she could be different.

i no longer answer to you. you world, both friend and foe, stranger and neighbor, church and bar, mirror and billboard. i refuse you. i deny you authority.

i am just me. and as i looked up, me met Her and everything was different.