“How soon are you going to forget this hardship?” Rain pelts the walls ceaselessly and the light in the room grows dimmer by the passing minute. The shadows on the walls flicker like the sun is playing hide and seek with the clouds. A strange day, when the sun filters through the windows as easily as rain through the cracks.
“Once the hardship is through of course. Why would one remember something that causes them pain?” The question lacks questioning.
A glass lifts up to pursed lips, “Yes, why indeed.”
To remember hardship is to remember history. To remember history is to have a comparison so we can avoid repeating the vile acts of our human ancestors.
However, does it do you any good to continue remembering the hardships that you have faced, the difficulties that you may have suffered through, the emotional tolls that you have paid to get to where you are? Does it do any good to force yourself to continue to suffer, to continue to pay that toll?
Strength + Acceptance
There is a certain belief that is widespread across our society as of now:
to be strong means you must grit your teeth in the face of any adversity
wipe your tears and do not let them see
if it hurts, take that pain and use it to move forward
do not question the pain, that is the pain of growth
show no weakness, remain unbowed, brag about your sleepless nights
But this is cruel. Motivation and growth are valiant goals but they are not goals for everyone. Few people talk about acceptance.
be strong but accept you can be weak
weakness is not a curse, it was built into your bones
stepping back from something is not shameful, it is creating a boundary
mark those boundaries well, so they cannot take advantage
accepting your failures makes room for new success
It has taken me a long time to accept that I do not have to work myself to the bone to be successful.
It meant I had to rewrite what success means. I am still rewriting it…
But I had to accept that I can have boundaries, I can set stepping stones and failures should be talked about with pride not with shame.
If you fail because you try, then what you should remember is that you tried.
Do not let it deter you from trying again.
“hey there, don’t forget to thank yourself for yesterday.”