Paper Lanterns

Someone recently wrote to me to thank me for a piece I’d posted on the boards, so I thought I’d share it here for those of you who are not board readers:
sometimes life is about understanding your own mythology, your own story. at different times in your life those stories change. from warrior to princess to wizard to crone. & i don’t think there’s any harm in seeing those stories, or of taking a lot of painful things – like the death of a son, or transness itself – and translating those things into something comprehensible for yourself, something that gives your life meaning, and maybe even purpose.
some people are practical-minded and only want to count the beans. others find more meaning in going a little hungry and burying a few to see if something grows.
i just think, sometimes, that we are too demanding that people always see the harsh, bare bulb of fact. life is hard enough. sometimes we’re all a little blanche debois, and want the paper lantern.