Pain

the most memorable of our experiences,

the sharpest teacher,

the thief of dreams,

the quick crack on our hands

as soon as we reach for something more.

The whispers constantly swimming inside:

You don’t deserve that.

You are unworthy.

And somehow…

we start to believe:

No one will love me.

Pain makes us act out,

push love away,

break everything that’s beautiful

because we fear it won’t stay.

It blinds us.

It drives us.

It becomes entwined in our voice

until all we can speak is survival.

But without pain,

could we ever know joy?

Could we ever feel

the weightless warmth of love

if we hadn’t first shivered in the cold?

Would we know how soft

a kind hand feels

if we hadn’t once been shoved?

It’s the ache

that teaches us

what wholeness really means—

the shadow

it shows the light shining bright.

If you’ve ever felt too broken,

too messy to be loved,

a burden to be forgotten…

Know this:

The ones who’ve known such pain

are the ones

who experience

the deepest kind of love.