Sharing – Resiliency: Strong & Broken At The Same Time
I love this paragraph from Ashley’s post, which you should absolutely go read in full:
“While I believe that I am strong, courageous, and resilient, I am also still healing. Being strong and being whole is not the same. A person can display strength while being broken. The reality is that you don’t have to choose between being strong and being broken because you’re allowed to be both at the same time. Healing isn’t some magical overnight experience. It requires work, time, and consistency. “
I see so many survivors stuck in a black/white perception. You’re either healed, or broken. You are strong and resilient, or you’re weak. You have a mental health problem, or you don’t.
When the truth is so much more complicated than all of that.
Everything I just described to you is actually an extreme, sitting on either end of a long line. Real life happens in between, and rarely stays at any one point on that line. We go from moments of feeling incredibly strong and capable, to questioning our own abilities in a matter of minutes, and it’s not because we are unstable or broken, but because that is how everyone is. We all vacillate along that line every day of our lives.
In regards to Ashley’s post, I think it’s truly the strongest people who can be broken, and still show up in the world. That’s resiliency.
So, if you feel broken right now, you are, but that doesn’t erase the fact that you are also strong, resilient, talented, etc. We are all more than one “thing” at a time.
