You May Feel Broken Right Now, But You Are Not Weak
But this is what you do when you are broken. You pick yourself up, piece by piece. You re-learn the strongest parts of yourself and fight until you break through.
Today you feel broken. Life has thrown you its toughest hand of cards and you’re trying to figure out who you are again, how to move forward in this place of loss.
Your hands feel foreign, your stomach twisted, your heart weighed down. You are unsure of your next step, dizzy and suddenly terrified to stand back up again.
But this is what you do when you are broken. You pick yourself up, piece by piece. You re-learn the strongest parts of yourself and fight until you break through. You drag yourself forward until your limbs can hold your weight, then you learn to stand up, to walk, to smile again.
You hold yourself together with threads, you distract yourself with things and people that occupy your mind and fill the space around you. You walk, you run, you settle into the rhythm of pounding feet on concrete. You comfort yourself with words and soft blankets and laughter until it no longer feels like you’re pretending.
You may be broken right now, but it will get better.
You may be broken right now, but you are not weak.
You are never weak. Your head has forgotten its capacity to love, to forgive, to hold memories.
Your body has forgotten how to push forward. But you are not this fragile creature that needs to be sheltered, protected, held within a closed fist.
You are not weak. The strongest parts of you are hiding just below the surface, giving you a moment to process. Recharging. The strongest parts of you are building, aligning, bubbling underneath your skin. Waiting for you to believe in them, to set them free.
You are not weak. You do not need to be taken care of. You do not need pity, or gentleness, or someone to carry you, or to hold your hand. You have the strength to stand on your own, the confidence to rebuild, the passion to continue, and the love to forgive.
Though the world may be pulling you down today, though you can’t lift the shadow from your eyes, though you are scared of the future, though you are broken, you are not weak.
So close your eyes, take a deep breath, and silently remind yourself of the person you are, of your incredible strength, and begin to piece yourself together again. 
Marisa Donnelly is a poet and author of the book, Somewhere on a Highway, available here.
