by Sarah K Grundy

𓃭𓆃 You chained me and left me for the famished beast, but in the end, you washed away with my other demons, and the beasts carried me home.” -Mazeylotus𓃭𓆃

Ghosts in your midst bodies in your wake, but you couldn’t break through the chains to act, to break the pattern.
Wounds.

When our hearts break, it’s devastating. I can’t explain, nor do I want to try or be told why or how something like a betrayal of the heart can cause physical pain, illness & paralysis in the body.

The urge to combat through it with sweat, ambition, “healing others,” new love, going back, quickening the pace, heroics, or some other flavor is rich. Maybe it’s chasing the pain; perhaps it’s running from it. They seem related, and neither allows the wound to bleed, cleanse and mend.

Mending is like surfing close to shore, close to the break. You’re going to get tiny shells stuck in your teeth, scuffs on your knees, and for some reason, more sand sneaks into your bum than when paddling further out, but those waves bring renewal to life.
Wipe the blood off, empty the sand, allow the saltwater to purify and give the gashes what they need to heal.

I won’t praise heartbreak like it’s some demented hero inspiring these words or give credit to those carrying around their jar of hearts as if they spark grand alchemy. Royalty will always turn pain into power, that does not make the infliction glamorous & the days of violation are done.

It’s most important to give ourselves the compassion others were gobbling up. It may make some uncomfortable the way you’re supporting the break, allowing it to flow rather than denying it, pushing it down, smothering it, silencing it, controlling it, rushing it, medicating it. Instead of letting it bleed until cleansed, taking a quest to the root of where it all began; Beyond the veil, beyond the illusion, beyond the shadows. Beyond the wound.

Closing the doors to all that violates, gently honoring what we deserve, opens doors to deliciously higher elevations.
That’s the rebirth. That’s the healing. Break the chains.


Art by: Andromède Gustave Doré 1869