You Can Hang Onto Bitterness, Or You Can Choose To Let It Go

I know you’re hurting. I see the pain in the lines around your eyes, in the way you carry yourself, in the way you are guarded, cautious before letting anyone in. I see your hesitation. You don’t want to trust someone, for fear they’ll be just like the last. You’re tired of giving people second chances that they don’t deserve, or the benefit of the doubt. You’ve been broken one too many times to trust so easily. You’re tired, so damn tired of the same routine.

I wish I could pick up your heart and hold it in my hand. I wish I could bandage the cuts and soften the bruises. I wish I could mend each tattered piece and wipe it gently, softly, patiently, carefully, until it shines once again.

I wish I could fix your brokenness, make you believe again—in the world, in yourself, in the strength of your heart. I wish I could help you see that not every person is the same, not every situation is negative, not every time you lean on someone will you end up face-first on the ground, beaten and wondering why.

This world is an imperfect place filled with imperfect people.
This world is filled with anger, with bitterness, with hate, with hardship.

But that’s not all it is.

This world is filled with people you can depend on, with memories that will make your heart sing no matter the time that has passed, with love, with celebration, with strangers that will show you all the ways you’ve been blessed, with children who will always put a smile on your face, with laughter, with sunshine, with kindness, with kisses, with forgiveness.

I see you standing there, shoulders shrugged, mouth turned into a harsh line, walls up. You believe you are broken, and you think there’s no changing that.

But I wish you could see what I see—someone who is so strong, strong enough to get back up after every fall. And strong enough to continue forward.

What you have right now is a choice. A choice to believe that this is as good as it gets—that people will always leave, always disappoint you, always hurt you. Or that life is on a continual circle, and though there will be bad, there will be good. Always good.

You have the choice to hang onto your pain, or to let it go.

You have the option to see all that has happened to you, to shake your head, to be angry for a moment, then to take a deep breath and exhale all the negativity. You can choose to fight. You can choose to forgive. You can choose to move past what has tried to drag you down.

You have the choice to no longer allow what has happened to you change your life. Because this is your life, and only you can control the outcome.

You are strong. You are resilient. You are pieces of your past and where you’ve been, but you are even more beautiful pieces of what’s to come.

You are what you choose to be. So be strong enough to leave the past behind, for good.

Be strong enough to walk forward with confidence. To forgive those that have tainted your story. To let go of what doesn’t grow you into a better person. To smile at your hurt and know that you will overcome it.

This is your decision, your future, your happiness at the edge of your fingertips. Only you can choose what path you will take, but I hope you choose to set your heart free. You are a beautiful person, and you deserve that.