I used to think strength was about never breaking. I thought it was the unyielding, impenetrable armor that kept the world at bay. But lately, I’ve realized that real strength isn’t about being unbreakable; it’s about the habit of stitching yourself back together.
And I say “habit” because healing is not an art project you start on Monday, finish, and submit by the weekend. I wish it were. I wish we could decide that this week, we’re working on trust issues, get the project done, and by Friday, we are the most open, trusting, and emotionally available people we’ve ever wanted to be.
But that isn’t how life works. Some days, it feels like we’re going to be fixing and stitching until there’s no more time left. And then maybe we go back to the one who made us this way and they’ll know what to do- or not.
Or perhaps we aren’t supposed to be stitching at all. Maybe we are just meant to let the scars be. Think of them as reminders of what we’ve survived and proof that we could endure more—even though we’d rather not. Or, perhaps, they are like those accidental variations in a design pattern—little detours that stand out more than the original plan and, in their own way, look even prettier.
I know, too, that sometimes things happen that truly destroy us. It is okay to admit that a situation has taken more from us than we thought we could handle. It is perfectly okay to break.
But here is the truth of it: We always come back. We return different—maybe a little more cautious, a little rougher around the edges—but we return. That is the wonder of the human spirit. It is the quiet, stubborn persistence of resilience.
If you are reading this and it feels like you are in one of the hardest phases of your life, and the path looks darker than it has ever been before: It gets better. I promise.
We are still here, we are still stitching, and we are still becoming.
NdukuOutLoud 
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