Athena 01 – Storm Outside. Storm Inside.
Late Friday afternoon.
Athena stands at the window of her small corner office.
It is grey outside.
Clouds full of rain move fast across the sky.
The wind howls.
The trees in the park bend hard.
Athena feels what she sees.
The storm outside reflects her state.
A restless feeling grows inside her.
It has been building for some time now.
She feels she is losing control.
She does not like it.
She is not used to it.
And yet, she watches it.
Something is shifting.
And she cannot stop it.
Not this strong.
Not this constant.
It comes in waves now.
And each time, it stays a little longer.
She tries to think her way out.
To regain control.
To fix it.
But nothing holds.
The more she tries,
the less it works.
Something inside her knows this is not just a problem.
She wonders if it is a call.
But a call to what,
she does not yet understand.
She knows something has to change.
And soon.
Her company is not evolving as it can.
She built it from nothing –– education and consulting ––
and it needs her even more.
Her family needs more of her.
All of them.
Her mother.
Her two teenage children.
Her husband, Victor.
Everyone acts as if all is OK.
Yet …
Athena not only feels it.
She knows it.
Deep down,
it is not OK.
As Athena recognizes this,
a ray of sunlight breaks through the clouds.
She pauses.
Then she smiles.
Is this a sign? she wonders.
She decides it is.
She picks up her phone
and calls Victor.
He answers immediately,
in his usual upbeat voice.
Athena gets straight to the point.
“We need to sit down this weekend.
You and I both heard Conrad speak
about returning Home.
I feel this might be what we need.
For us.
For the family.
It’s called the Freedom Warriors Way.
I think it’s time we looked at it.
I’ll ask him to send the link.
We can look at it together.”
The ray of sunlight grows stronger.
Athena smiles.
She feels lighter now.