Scars of Strength

 

Strength.

That’s the word I think of when I think of the last 3 years.

The strong ones are not those who win battles fought in front of us but those who win battles we know nothing about.

Smiles can hide so much.

Fear, pain, sadness, tears.

But then again, they reflect only one thing:

strength

 

But there’s this weird double standard with strength,

and it includes knowing you can’t be strong all the time.

That’s the thing about pain, it demands to be felt.

So when you need to speak your mind, speak it.

Even if your voice shakes.

And you never truly know how strong you are until
being strong is the only choice you have, but today…

I choose to be weak.

As my friend Hazel Grace once said,

Let’s talk about math.

I’m not a mathematician, but I do know this:

There are an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and 1.

There’s .1 and .2 and .112 and an infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2,  or even more between 0 and one million.

Some infinites are bigger than other infinites.

There are days, many of them,

when I resent the size of our life’s unbounded sets.

And I wanted more numbers than what I got.

But I AM grateful for the numbers I did get with to share my light, my fire, with the world.

I got a little infinity.

You see, here on earth we all want to be remembered.

And we will be.

It’s nearly impossible to not leave your mark,

but unfortunately some of those marks are scars.

And some argue that it’s not fair that some

peoples’ scars and marks are lesser than others.

Arguably, some scars left are just simply deeper as opposed to longer.

Training left deep scars.

Scars of love and life and hope and once in a lifetime experiences.

But I am strong, and I had a choice.

I chose to turn my face to the sun and let the shadows fall behind me rather than in front of me.

I have finally grasped the fact that unexpected things are going to happen in life.

I’m done talking about math so who cares about the numbers…

Let’s move to art.
Kizzy Willey-Ricedorff, 1994 - 2018.

So…the line.

Or we’ll just call it a dash.

The two numbers mark the beginning and the end….

But the dash is what really matters.

How will I choose to live within MY dash?

The dash represents all the time I get to spend here, making my mark.

Although small on the grave, the dash holds it’s very own infinity.

Some may see memorials as just a day in their lifetime,

but it’s really a lifetime in a day.

The saying truly stands,

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count but the life in your years.”

The dash; my life’s personal infinity.

I wish to live each day to it’s fullest, never wanting to slow down.

I will face each day without fear of the future.

And I know I'll want everyone surrounding me to do the same someday,

as I watch over from above.

So take no day for granted and live life unremitted.

When we cry, dry your eyes because better days are sure to come.

When we smile, smile wide, because the pain will soon be gone.

When we laugh, laugh out loud, because it will carry to others who need our love.

When we see, see the beauty of our life and in ourselves.

When we pray, pray for strength in our trials.

And then each morning when we wake, we can say, “Lets do this.”

#GetUp10 #ScarsOfStrength #LetsDoThis #Strength #Shine #GlitterLining ✨ #NothingCanDullMySparkle #ShineBRIGHT ✨