The Walk Forward

Dearest Orion,

There comes a day when an ache softens into understanding. The work still looks the same, the meetings sound the same, but something inside you doesn’t. The pulse that once beat with urgency now moves slower, steadier - aware that it’s time to turn toward something new.

For years, you’ve carried this role like a promise. You gave it brilliance, your late nights, your best intentions. You built relationships, memories, even parts of your identity around it. But lately, that belonging feels tighter, not safer.

There’s a moment in every career when the weight of staying begins to outweigh the fear of leaving. The pain isn’t punishment; it’s direction. The exhaustion isn’t failure; it’s feedback.

You don’t have to leave in frustration. You can leave in alignment. You can honor what shaped you without being defined by it.

When you finally loosen your grip, your hands are free again - free again to create, to explore, to dream. You realize you’re not starting over. You’re starting from wisdom.

Somewhere ahead, there’s a horizon wide enough for the person you’ve become.

And when you take that first step, you’ll discover that walking away was never the end - it was the beginning of everything waiting to unfold.

Tonight, I walk forward.

-Me