The Call That Changed It All

Last month I received a distressing phone call. It felt weighty, like a judgment regarding my future. I'll never forget where I was, what I was doing, and what I was thinking after I received the news. An unforgettable moment that leveled me

Not sure why, but I started writing moments after the call. Probably because I was hyper aware of all of the noises around me and decided to write it out. Turns out, it was actually a great exercise in writing the perimeter of the protagonist. And come to find out, it's actually a grounding technique called "5-4-3-2-1" used by therapists (see link below).

Here is what leaked out of my hurting heart that morning:

The clank of a stainless-steel water bottle against a nearby desk reminds me, I’m not alone. I can’t break down. Keep going. The sound of the heater fills the room. The sting of the office lights above. The smell of my coffee cup with residual drops. None of it takes away the sorrow pressing inside my face. Pure resolve is how I stay afloat today. My world just stopped. A death deep down that can’t be measured. How do I go on? Where do I go from here? A message was sent. You’re not enough. You’re not worth the effort. You’ve been cut from the team, and you didn’t know it.

Grounding technique info: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/grounding-techniques