MAY 2025: A Phoenix First Must Burn

“In order to rise from its own ashes,  
a Phoenix first must burn.” 
(Octavia Butler)

    When thinking of the phoenix, I often wonder how this legendary bird of roaring resurrection feels in the moments before its unavoidable destiny. So often people describe the glorious rebirth and renewal – but scarcely, if at all, have we beheld the tale from the fading eyes of the phoenix itself.  

  If you’re unfamiliar with the myth, a phoenix is a mythical bird which dies and is reborn again... and again. Its old form gone, a new bird rising from its own ashes, upon the pyre its former self built. 

    Does it feel any fear of death, regrets of its past, or any anxiety of having to let go of its identity and everything that it’s learned & known for so long – just to start over and live an entirely new life again? Or, perhaps, a hope that it will learn from its past mistakes.

    Regardless, it will fulfill its destiny.    

    It's been a whirlwind of changes and uncertainty, and to be honest, each day I've been nervous about what may come. But something tells me it'll all be okay - because the universe gave me another giggle: the department I’m in at work during the week is appropriately named: Phoenix.