I think I might have finally
Lived long enough of life
The losses and the pleasures
The pain and the joy
The disappointments and regrets
To finally have something
Valuable to say.

Or if not valuable,
Maybe just … needed.
Is it me who needs to say it
Or you who needs to hear it?
It doesn’t really matter which.

If nothing more than
Please know that
Your pain
Is survivable.
There is an end to it.
Although it may feel
Like it will consume you
And break you,
Smother you with its
Ferocity,
Break you,
There is another side
To this dark tunnel.

You can do this.
You can survive this.
You can live again.

On the other side
After you have
Endured and healed
You can
Grow and even blossom.
Because you took the time
To listen to your heart.
Found the people whom you trust
To confide in.
Did the work that you
Fought for longer than
An eternity
But finally gave in

Because to not do the work
Left you mired in the pain.
And ultimately
discovered the things that
Fill you up.

So you are whole again
In a new way
With your heart stitched together
But stronger,
Somehow.
You are newly-brave
Tentatively stepping into
Your new self.
Tiptoeing into your
New life with your
Just-now-mended heart.
But you’re doing it.
And it’s remarkable.

Keep doing it.

And do it again
The next time
Life goes sideways.

And again.
And again.

Only these times
Don’t fight the work of healing
For so long.
Because we all face
This challenge.
These challenges.
Sometimes big ones
All at once.
Or back-to-back.
It is part and parcel
Of being human.

To feel
Means we’ll get hurt.
To love
Means we’ll grieve.
To love deeply
Means the grief we feel
Will be almost
Unbearable.
But not completely.
Because we are still here.

No one tells us this.
They feed us the fairytale.

But I will tell you the truth.
Life is hard.
There is exhausting work to do
To get through it.
It will happen again
And again.
When we feel we can least
Handle it.
It’s not our choice.
We don’t get to decide
When our lives turn upside down.

But
Despite it all
I know in the very center of my core:
You can do it.
It’s worth it.
You are worth it.

Maybe even if just one
Person needs to hear this
It will all be worth it.

I hope it’s you.