Many moons ago, I sold my soul to a man. The transaction seemed so appealing at the time. He came to me in the midst of a beautiful day, smelling sweet and looking fine. I just knew he was my twin flame. Skin kissed by the sun, hair waves that could rock the ocean, chocolate chiseled body. For the first time in my life, I saw his poetry in motion. He flashed his pearly whites and I melted from the heat of the fire.

He whispered seduction in my ear and sealed it with passionate kisses. Our souls united and we become one. For years, we lived, we laughed, and we loved. Then one day out of the blue, the enemy stole his livelihood. He stopped taking care of himself and started drinking beer like crazy. Those chiseled abs turned in jelly overnight. That wavy hair slowly crept it’s way to an unkempt afro. Then right before my eyes, he turned into a slimy, stinky, obese pig. Started talking to me like I was yesterday’s garbage and acted like I was the source of his sudden change to a pig.

As he berated me, I turned into an ugly duckling. Downtrodden, couldn’t even hold my head up high. The spirit of fear surrounded me like a tight fitting glove. When he looked at me, he was repulsed.

“I didn’t sign up for this. When did you get so beat down?,” he glared at me with contempt in his eyes. Disgusted by his presence, I vomited. To my surprise, he returned to his natural form and jogged away from me. With each step he took away from me, I succumbed into a deep dark state of mind. I tried to chase him but didn’t have the strength. The next thing I knew, he  fell right into the arms of the beautiful woman who happened to look like I used to.

“I gave you all of me and you acts like this!” I yelled. “I wasn’t an ugly duckling until I met you!” Then, I too became a fat, greasy, nasty pig.

For the next year, I wallowed in the muddy sand, eating the scraps of food left behind on the beach. My taste buds began to change and I craved dirt and subpar cuisine. I found a pin of other pigs and decided to join them. Misery loves company. We partied every night, drinking and eating our pain away.

Then one day, I heard a voice beckoning me out of the pen. I tried to go to it, but I didn’t have the energy so I stayed. Each day, the voice bellowed louder and louder. So, I stopped eating the scraps and consumed the best. I continued to move closer and closer to the pit’s exit until I had enough strength and power to break through the gates. Suddenly, I returned to my natural form. No longer a pig, I was clean and I smelled good.

“No more wallowing in the sandy mud,” I cried out. “Goodbye, overpopulated pig pen,” I yelled.

What traps have you fallen into? To whom have you sold your soul? Take some inventory and do what you need to do to get stronger and get out of the pig pen. Life awaits you and it wants you to live it. Will you take the first step?