Deep Sea
“Don’t be afraid - walk through the long night.
The world will be beneath your feet”
When I watched the animated film Deep Sea, the ending theme stayed with me long after the credits rolled. The song spoke of love that protects without possession, and of the bittersweet moment when you step back so someone you love can walk forward. It felt like the voice of a parent - especially a parent learning to embrace their child just as they are.
Sometimes love means holding on.
Sometimes love means letting go.
The ending song - Goodbye Deep Sea - carries a tender wish: to walk alongside our child forever, and the courage to let them step into their own world.
“I’ll be at the end of the world,
leaving you at the gateway to your dreams.
Don’t look back - just keep walking,
even if no one is there to meet you at the end.”
For parents raising children who see and feel the world differently, the journey can feel like navigating the deep sea. We want to protect them from every storm, to smooth every wave. But one day, they will no longer need the armor we’ve wrapped around them. And in that moment, the truest love is to watch them sail forward - carrying not our fears, but our faith in them.
And maybe, these words aren’t only for our children - they are for us, too. Parents also walk through their own uncharted waters, carrying past wounds, self-doubt, and the quiet ache of wanting to be “enough.” Sometimes we need to hear the same encouragement: keep going, even if no one is there to meet you at the end.
Letting go is not abandonment. It is trust. Trust that our child will discover their own “coral gardens” and “spinning night skies,” and that their smile will be the brightest light in any universe. Trust, too, that we as parents can shed the armor we’ve worn for so long and find our own home within.
“Don’t be afraid - walk through the long night.
The world will be beneath your feet.”
May we all be the quiet wind that follows - not to steer, but to carry the warmth of home, wherever the journey leads.
