Day 240: A Few Degrees Colder

Day 240: A Few Degrees Colder

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

— Oscar Wilde

A few degrees colder, and I wouldn’t be here.

That fact is never far from my mind.

Some days, when the weight is heavy and the silence gets loud,

I wonder what it would’ve meant if things had gone differently.

If the cold had won.

If the darkness had taken me before the light found its way back in.

And I’ll be honest—

there have been moments where I wished it had.

Moments where surviving felt like punishment instead of grace.

But not today.

Because today, even through the struggle,

I’m thankful.

I’m thankful that I get to feel.

That I get to laugh.

That I get to wrestle with love, loss, confusion, and all the pieces in between.

That I get to walk outside and feel the breeze.

To sip coffee, to talk to friends, to try again.

That I get to live—

not just exist.

This isn’t about toxic positivity.

It’s about perspective.

It’s about remembering how close I came to disappearing,

and choosing, again and again, to keep showing up.

Today is proof.

Proof that survival isn’t passive.

It’s a decision I make every morning I wake up and say:

“I’m still here.”

And that?

That is rare.

That is real.

That is enough.

One Step. One Punch. One Round. 🌹

—Your Fellow Traveler