I recently experienced a download from Heaven. In my sleep, I was dreaming about how so many people I know — who I haven’t seen for years and am now seeing again — keep telling me how much I have grown. I figured I must take credit for the growth, just as I must take responsibility for the bad AND the good. I’ve worked hard on my recovery, and growth has happened.
Through jail, treatment, and my continued psychological, psychiatric, neurological, and medication management, I’ve found the following:
1. Growth is a choice, not an accident.
The poem says growth happens when an opportunity for change isn’t just noticed but answered. Seeing a chance to grow isn’t enough — you must act on it.
2. Growth comes during imperfect moments.
Growth doesn’t arrive when life is neat or when you feel ready. It shows up unexpectedly — “a knock at midnight” — often when you’re tired, afraid, or unsure. The poem emphasizes that waiting for the “right time” or for confidence can mean missing the moment.
3. Fear and doubt don’t disqualify you.
I make it clear that fear, a shaky voice, and past failures are normal. You don’t need to be fearless or flawless — growth only requires participation.
4. Courage is choosing forward movement anyway.
The key turning point is saying “yes” despite fear. Growth happens in small internal moments: a breath, a heartbeat, a decision not to shrink back.
5. Action transforms identity.
When you step toward change, resilience and brilliance aren’t just ideas — they become part of who you are. By the end, growth creates “a new version of you,” stronger and more confident than before.
Growth happens when you choose courage over comfort, and that’s exactly what I hope you take away from my poem.
Growth Happens
A poem by Lifeskills alum, Nitin M.
Growth happens
when an opportunity for positive change
isn’t just noticed –
it’s answered.
When the world cracks open just enough
to let a little light leak through,
and you
with all your fear, all your doubt,
still choose to step toward it.
Growth is not polite.
It’s not tidy.
It doesn’t wait for your calendar
or your comfort.
It shows up like a knock at midnight –
resilience at the door,
brilliance waiting in the streetlights,
asking, “Are you coming?”
And you say yes.
Even if your voice shakes.
Even if the ground remembers
every time you fell before.
Because change doesn’t need perfection –
only participation.
Growth happens
in the moment you refuse to shrink,
in the breath where courage outweighs caution,
in the heartbeat that whispers,
This is the chance. Take it.
And when you do –
when you act,
fully, fiercely,
unapologetically –
that’s when resilience rises,
brilliance breaks open,
and a new version of you
steps forward,
taller than the past,
louder than the fear,
ready for whatever light
comes next.
