Throw the Darn Bottle
Throw the Darn Bottle
Some writing is meant to land.
Some is meant to drift.
Some is meant to disappear, just to prove you were willing to say it.
I remind myself of that every time I hover over “publish,”
half brave, half nauseous.
Because writing...especially the vulnerable, say what you mean kind...
isn’t a performance for applause.
It’s an offering.
And once you release it, it stops being yours.
Here’s the metaphor that helps me remember that:
Writing is like sending bottles into the ocean.
You stand on the shore of your own life,
scribbling something true on a scrap of clarity.
You tuck it in a bottle, seal it with whatever hope or heartbreak you have left…
and then you throw.
Not knowing where it’ll go.
Not knowing if it’ll reach anyone at all.
Some bottles will never be found.
Some will crack open on the jagged rock of someone’s bad day.
Some will be intercepted by people who read it sideways and assume you meant something cruel. Or not enough. Or too much.
And still… you throw.
Because some will land in the hands of someone who needed it…
someone who’s been drowning quietly,
waiting for a message that says:
You’re not the only one.
And they may never tell you.
You don’t get to steer the tide.
You don’t get to choose their weather.
You don’t get to stand next to them when they open it and say,
“Wait! Let me explain what I meant.”
You just write the clearest, truest message you can…
and trust that the ocean has a better delivery system than your anxiety.
Because you’re not here to manage the waves.
You’re here to speak across them.
So throw the darn bottle.
Want more like this in your inbox?
I write stories about neurodivergent characters who face real challenges, take risks, feel deeply, experience life viscerally, and grow as they discover who they are and where they belong.
👇Click below to join us at AuDHD in Translation
What helps you release your writing without trying to control how it’s received?
Let’s talk in the comments. Or throw me a bottle back.
Want more than just perspective?
Book a Power Hour with me…one focused, no-fluff session to get clarity, strategy, or a solid kick in the gears.