Pressured landmarks
Imprints of our existence
Imposing or faint
We leave them all over as we make our way
Circling footsteps
Piercing the Earth and its beautiful landscapes
Telling all who see them that
We are here
We are alive
We are powerful
We are driven
Drivers of our own destinies
Purposes
Successes and failures
Owning them is one of our greatest challenges
Because it forces us to
Be honest
Be humble
Be vulnerable
Be authentic
When we do these things, we free ourselves of our unsettled burdens
Through reflecting on those paths that we’ve walked
We’ve stumbled through or even crawled
Insignificance is our adversary
We fight to be relevant
To be seen
To be understood
To be loved
To be human
Not the version of human that others seek to define
For they are not the writers of our lived scripts or steps
With circling footsteps, we learn more about from where we’ve come in hopes to determine where we are going
With each movement that we take
We capture more of our possibilities
As scary as that may seem in that moment
We gain momentum
We gain stamina
To do what we are destined to do and become
With every circling footstep, we hold ourselves accountable for our actions
Because we have left a clear legacy indicating from where we’ve been
Interrogation is a required component of our journey
Do not run from or avert your eyes
You must stay ever present in this walk
Never to make the same mistake twice
Because we can easily see that there is so much more for us over the horizon
Do not allow fear to stop you from continuing this path
This road
This route
You are not bound by time, in the sense that others dictate, but only your own
This is the beauty of our existence
You are not others’ projections of who you ought to be
You are far more than what they can comprehend
As these footsteps continue, you will soon realize
Your purpose
Your autonomy
Your gifts
Circling footsteps are individualized and unique as snowflakes in the winter
Or our very own fingerprints
Circling footsteps are a tapestry of our making
What beauty they make
Because they radiate the elegance within each of us
Never succumb to the false equivalencies that those who do not carry
Your burdens
Your baggage
Your insecurities
Your hopes
Your dreams and ambitions
Hold on tight to them like an infant does its parent when in despair
Circling footsteps only end when you give up or give in to those external forces that envy your ability to continue your trek
So never forget to look back from whence you’ve come
Circling footsteps are yours and yours alone
You’ve made them all by yourself
And never apologize for each effort you’ve taken in their creation
Beauty is not only in the eyes of the beholder
They are in every step of your gait
Circling footsteps are your solution to every question you’ve ever had
Circling footsteps are your template to becoming
an even more promising and emboldened you..