Several years ago, I went through a disastrous experience that affected every area of my life. It felt as if I was falling down the side of a mountain. I tumbled, my feet sliding in the gravel as I tried to grab at rocky outcrops and clumps of grass to stop my momentum. At one point
I was left dangling by my fingertips on a metaphoric cliff and I thought, somewhat optimistically, Well, at least I still have my health. But then that went too and over the edge I toppled, arms and legs flailing.
Because this story involves other living people, and the laws of Australia are what they are, I can’t tell you exactly what happened to me: only that one cold winter’s night I fled my home in fear for my life, after having gotten my pets and a few sentimental items out the day before. I had only my wallet, my phone and my latest manuscript on a USB stick.
I left an entire life behind.
I had to begin again, sitting on a cardboard box in my father’s spare room. I was shattered and traumatised. I didn’t even know if it was possible for me to rebuild my life or whether I was going to be broken forever. So, I gave myself an image.
‘You are a supernova,’ I told my crushed spirit.
A supernova is a star that has exploded and splintered into millions of pieces. Although that star is destroyed forever, the material that is projected out into space from it can be recycled to form another star, or perhaps even another planet or new life forms. The destruction is loaded with positive potential…
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