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When to Change Your Route: A Poem on Stagnation
A reflective poem on stagnation and the courage to change — for anyone who's felt the quiet unease of a life that's stopped growing.
There’s a kind of stable life that’s secretly stagnant. The discomfort of admitting it is a small price for the freedom on the other side.
We’re right as rain
When everything’s the same
It’s all we know
Can’t complain
Except this feeling
You can’t seem to shake
Don’t you dare go there
Because reality may break
There’s a truth inside us all
Where comfort’s a slow death
It’s all too common to reflect upon
When we’ve met our final breath
That’s not to say it’s wrong or right
These paths we choose are ours
But be aware enough to know
When to change your route
Most stagnation isn’t dramatic. It’s just the slow drift of fine into forever fine. The reframe at the end is the kindest one I have: it’s not that the comfortable life is wrong. It’s that you should be aware enough to know when it’s stopped being yours.
— JTC