Soul's Ascent: A Journey to Self-Discovery

When the world questions, I turn within
Seeking truth in my inner realm  
Judgments fade like mist in the wind
When purpose fills my heart's helm

Like a bird longing for open skies       
I yearn to soar to new heights uncharted  
No longer bound by others' prying eyes
Or confined by limits once imparted

Each day my vision clears and focus sharpens
As I shape the clay of my character    
Every challenge strengthens and toughens   
Tempering my will like fired earthenware

Down paths unknown I now walk alone
Blazing trails where few have trod
Each step I take fans hope's tender flame
Lighting my way, I trust in my Goddess

Why explain my aims to closed minds?
The cynical scoff, the jealous mock
Their words like arrows designed to wound
But my armor now is tempered and locked

I thrill in testing my growing power
Stretching my wings to their full span
No longer a sprout in the shadow of the flower
I bloom as Nature intended her plan

Your doubts about me speak more of you
What you think I lack lives in your heart
You see flaws simply because they're true of you  
While my vision dwells on my better part

I celebrate all my steps of progress
Each triumph, each failure that taught me more
Always unfolding and growing, I obsess         
Over goals that call me to strive and soar

The next chapter awaits blank pages
Full of potential and promise yet unscribed    
I savor the joy that my growth presages   
As my branches reach upward, revived

Why dim my light to accommodate others?  
I shine not to glitter but to illuminate  
My glow need not fade for weaker sisters and brothers
It inspires in them strength to cultivate

Watch me soar by living out my potential  
No judgment can shake my inner foundation
All that I am, I open up creatively and gently
In service of truth, beauty and creation

Your doubts about my path only bolster my courage  
To walk it with faith 'til my travels come full circle
Along the way each experience makes me wiser   
Tempering heart, mind and spirit against ridicule

This journey requires all my passion and focus
I haven't the time or care to tend to hecklers
Their words can't touch one fired strong as a furnace
Single-minded in purpose, I am no longer their thrall.

I am the driver on this road trip called living
I decide my route, my stops and my destination  
Your backseat driving can't sway my mission  
I'm empowered to drive safely to my life's celebration