I understand these words deeply; I have stood on that same edge. But I've realized that the place beyond is a mystery that cannot be undone.

Even with the best intentions, people are trapped in their own rooms. They cannot live for us, and they may fail us one way or another.

Our life is our own small square footage to manage. We have the right to retreat into our own internal space and make it whatever we need it to be.

I hope this is creative writing—a writer's profound purpose of staying alive to keep writing. Turning the act of living into an act of art.

You still have stories to tell and a room to decorate with your words, all the reasons to stay on this side of the edge.