I threw a mug not so long ago. I threw it hard and it was full. I like the mug, it has a pink flamingo on it with the words ‘you are awesome’, so go figure. I had been enjoying the drink too, but it didn’t matter. There was nobody in the room and I went for it. I was overcome with frustration and my body took over. I wanted to smash something. That’s what happens when we let stuff build silently. We explode. As I watched the warm liquid pour all across the kitchen floor, something occurred to me. There were no pieces shattered. The mug wasn’t broken, there wasn’t even so much as a chip or a crack. It stood tall. Like a tree that holds its ground. My first reaction was ‘where did I buy that mug because I need to get more?’. Annoyingly, I still can’t remember and it was only a couple of months ago I then started thinking about what it means to be broken. Tears? No, they don’t make you broken. Tears are beautiful. Tears demonstrate that you feel. They make you human. An impulsive outburst of rage? No, that doesn’t make you broken. It means you care. It means you want to grow. We all have pain to deal with and things to make better. We all have issues that we feel passionately about.
There are moments that we feel misunderstood, let down, disconnected and frustrated. But those moments do not mean that we are broken. We have to take ownership of those moments. To embrace them and let them be. To feel them. To then see how we can move on from them. And trust me, we can always move on from them. You are strong but these tough moments make you stronger. So keep feeling, because that is what we are made to do. The ability to feel is a beautiful thing. I am not looking for comfortably numb in my life. I want to feel. Don’t stop feeling. Know that you need to be heard. Know that your voice matters. Use your voice. Stand tall like my flamingo mug. You will not be broken.
