Big Questions in Small Moments

Breathe in the unapologetic atmosphere that’s embraced you from the moment you breathed out into the cosmos.

Before you strive to make yourself smaller, before you fight to disappear… Who can demand that you do so?

Who can declare that you are too much? That you are not beautiful, powerful and perfect just as you are?

What does anyone have to gain by reducing you, or do they just feel small themselves? Who orders the sun not to shine? And does she obey?

Do the ocean waves not swell their chests, surging and crashing, fierce and free?

Do the mountains not stand tall and firm in all conditions, against all opposition?

You choose; no one else does.

To rest too, when you are tired and weary.

Even the sun sets into the earth, the mountains find refuge behind the clouds, the restless sea settles.

And when you are ready, you will rise as the waves do. You will burn as bright as the sun. You will hold firm like the mountains.

You will be seen. For who you are, not for who you are told to be. Bold, strong and true. You will not shrink. You cannot disappear.

Jordan Staats is a graphic designer and mental health advocate living in Indianapolis with his spouse, Libby. Through his own eating disorder recovery, he has found a passion to share his story and his art in the hopes that it may not only reach those on a journey of healing but will also inspire understanding, empathy and support for the many different people that eating disorders affect.