Water is a mirror, reflecting our strengths and weaknesses, our hopes and fears.
Her voice is softer now, the teasing left behind as something genuine falls between them. "If they say they aren't then they're lying." No one is ever happy with who they are, and everyone is always working to take that next step, to become better in one way or another.
Elizabeth glances at Goose cuddling with his stick then out at the glittering expanse of water that begins to settle from the rippling of their movements, a low hum easing through her throat. "Hmm. I wonder if a 'pit' is the right analogy..." she tilts her head with a gentle smile when she turns to look at him again, willing him not to take her words as harsh or belittling of his view, "because I don't think who you are is at the top."
There's still warmth in her eyes, but a deep wisdom and analytical nature darkens the brown, an understanding there that most might find surprising in her young age. "Putting who you want to be at the 'top' implies that there is an end, but there will always be a new goal, a new you to strive for." And in his analogy: a new pit to climb out of. It wouldn't be healthy to think of his past actions as 'mistakes' or 'opposite progress' in the way that digging down might be perceived. His choices weren't things that needed to be fixed or left below with the rest of the darkness. It's just a moment in his journey.
Tapping a finger against the knuckle of her clasped hand, she does her best to readjust his perception of it. "I guess you could think of it more as a maze or a series of tunneled paths through your soul." Elizabeth lets a whisper of a smile grace her lips, something akin to a soothing breeze on a summer day, reassuring that the pain of heat won't last. "In your grief, you might have been trying to dig a new path that doesn't lead anywhere, shoveling away in the dark and hoping to strike gold - or better yet, purpose." Her hands move to prop her head on her fist. "But when you finally choose to step away from the guilt and grief, to move forward on what trails lie ahead, you have a chance to find new paths, new yous and grow as a person."
Her smile is a little more somber, not wanting him to think it's easy to travel through life or traverse the path of self-discovery. "The path might not always be flat, maybe it slopes up and you grow tired, or maybe your lantern dies and you're reminded of those days spent chipping away at an empty wall, but you don't have to let that darkness consume you. You can sit in it, acknowledge it, perhaps even wallow in the memories for a time, but then you find the light again, and you keep moving forward towards who you want to be." She lets her voice fade, the soft lapping of water replacing what she hopes were helpful words as she watches his expression for signs of understanding.
Elizabeth glances at Goose cuddling with his stick then out at the glittering expanse of water that begins to settle from the rippling of their movements, a low hum easing through her throat. "Hmm. I wonder if a 'pit' is the right analogy..." she tilts her head with a gentle smile when she turns to look at him again, willing him not to take her words as harsh or belittling of his view, "because I don't think who you are is at the top."
There's still warmth in her eyes, but a deep wisdom and analytical nature darkens the brown, an understanding there that most might find surprising in her young age. "Putting who you want to be at the 'top' implies that there is an end, but there will always be a new goal, a new you to strive for." And in his analogy: a new pit to climb out of. It wouldn't be healthy to think of his past actions as 'mistakes' or 'opposite progress' in the way that digging down might be perceived. His choices weren't things that needed to be fixed or left below with the rest of the darkness. It's just a moment in his journey.
Tapping a finger against the knuckle of her clasped hand, she does her best to readjust his perception of it. "I guess you could think of it more as a maze or a series of tunneled paths through your soul." Elizabeth lets a whisper of a smile grace her lips, something akin to a soothing breeze on a summer day, reassuring that the pain of heat won't last. "In your grief, you might have been trying to dig a new path that doesn't lead anywhere, shoveling away in the dark and hoping to strike gold - or better yet, purpose." Her hands move to prop her head on her fist. "But when you finally choose to step away from the guilt and grief, to move forward on what trails lie ahead, you have a chance to find new paths, new yous and grow as a person."
Her smile is a little more somber, not wanting him to think it's easy to travel through life or traverse the path of self-discovery. "The path might not always be flat, maybe it slopes up and you grow tired, or maybe your lantern dies and you're reminded of those days spent chipping away at an empty wall, but you don't have to let that darkness consume you. You can sit in it, acknowledge it, perhaps even wallow in the memories for a time, but then you find the light again, and you keep moving forward towards who you want to be." She lets her voice fade, the soft lapping of water replacing what she hopes were helpful words as she watches his expression for signs of understanding.
Elizabeth
