drawing - strength in fear - ink on paper, 2025

view the drawing - strength in fear

drawing - strength in fear

the winged figure stands at the edge of a cliff that is breaking away.

the rock beneath her is splitting. 

cracks begin at her feet and widen into a gap.

stones fall away to the side of her -

dangerous, unavoidable, real.

she is a dark silhouette against a dark sky.

in front her, the moon looms - silent, immense.

and beyond it: planets suspended in the dark - 

wide, watchful, unfamiliar.

the scene is oppressive.

frightening.

and still - she does not turn away.

her palms face outward toward the sky, as if meeting it.

as if holding her ground in front of something vast.

behind her, her wings sit in shadow,

fragmenting - breaking -

not yet lifting, not yet spread, not yet used.

this moment captures strength in fear.

not the absence of fear,

but the decision to remain present inside it.

she is standing at the first edge -

the place where the old ground starts to fail and the new ground hasn't appeared yet.

she cannot control what is collapsing,

but she can choose her posture.

she stands anyway.

this moment captures presence inside fear.

it is being by your own side when you feel completely alone.

it is standing in danger and uncertainty -

with every reason to break -

and choosing not to abandon yourself.

the fear is real. the ground is real. the risk is real.

and still, something deeper holds:

I will not leave my own side,

no matter what happens.

view the icon - the ordinary

view the drawing - strength in fear

read the letter - to the person I wish I never met

watch the reveal - life as it was

echo - silence

this was her experience for a long time.

silent - not because she didn't speak,

but because she wasn't heard. 

and silent, too, because there were things she did not say.

things held back for safety.

for survival.

for timing.

she spoke with herself internally.

her own voice became her strength -

the quiet proof that she was never alone.

the echo follows the letter -

the experience as it was lived when she felt silenced.

she was in a void,

with nothing but her own voice for company.

the way out wasn't clear.

only this was: she would not abandon herself.

reflective prompt

at the edge of fear, do you discover strength?

in the face of fear, I discovered mine.

I learned that I am someone who does not crumble.

every part of me was tested - and still, I stayed.

I didn't always know the way out.

but I always knew there was more.

and I never gave up.

- the Chamber