Fragile but Strong

By Claudine Ware

“I fall in love with people who break me, and then, I fall in love with the scars that grow back stronger in their place.”

Kristen Robinson – Naked Writing

This statement spoke to me, beckoned me to write, compelled me to reflect. Mostly, because I do not fear falling in love and loving intensely, being vulnerable, allowing people to see me and experiencing my emotions to the fullest and unapologetically.

I am unafraid of falling, of hurting, of being bruised, at the risk of making a connection. It takes courage to lay it all out there, fragility to allow yourself to be broken. But in that brokenness lies growth, love, and life. It means you have felt all the things you need to feel to be alive.

The moments after the fall are just as vital for growth as those before it. The emotions you feel in the aftermath are just as important, if not more important, than the fall itself. Allowing yourself to feel the grief, nursing yourself and your wounds to become whole again, stronger. Nurturing your soul, allowing yourself to cry, experiencing all the feelings…. which, in many instances, we may try to suppress, in order to appear stronger. But the actual act of expressing your feelings is what makes you stronger….

Through this process, you come to cherish the beauty of what once was. You understand why it moved you so deeply, why its ending felt like a loss. And from that mourning, you take the beautiful moments with you—the ones that shape who you are - discarding what does not serve you. The metaphor is so clear, drop the luggage that does not serve you anymore. You don’t have to take all of it with you on your journey. Life, after all, is about traveling lightly, unburdened by unnecessary weight, with hope and resilience in your heart.

This process is cyclical – a constant rebirth. Each time you emerge with scars, to remind you of your unique journey. Scars that speak of pain but also of survival, growth, love and the beauty of living a life well lived.

I have many scars, maybe more than my share for my time on earth, but if they were a reflection on how I chose to live my life, I wear them with pride and a reminder that I have made the right choices for me.

Go to Clo's homepage