Feeling the World Deeply

Astrid Hardjana-Large in Summer 2018

My restrictions are horrible.

From ideal perspectives, it's a frustration.

Following expectations, life is lacking.

Working for approval, I have no concentration.

My restrictions are horrible.

In hardship, life offers me inspiration,

I find challenges to be motivating,

The wonders of the world keep fueling my ambition.

My restrictions are horrible,

But they make feeling the world deeply more possible.

This poem was intended as a reflection to make me admit the not-so-great moments of my life. Though it repeats that my restrictions are horrible, there has never been a time when I didn’t love my life. I admit that life felt horrible in moments when I was distracted from or struggling to find my true self.