There are moments when there’s nowhere left to go but inside.

We hit rock bottom.

We stand alone, in the dark, covered in exhausted self-doubt, trying desperately to glue our broken hearts back together with old gum.

Sticky tears sting our eyes as emptiness throbs through our souls, like distant, rumbling thunder.

Drowning in an endless sea of lonely sobs, we sigh deeply.

Hopelessness descends like a hawk, diving down and capturing us, completely.

I know it hurts.

But, no one ever tells us that these tough, terrifying moments are juicy.

Really f*cking juicy.

They hurt—hell yes, they hurt—but when life rips us open and pulls us apart, it’s a profound chance to peer inside and discover who we really are.

We meet ourselves, often not in a joyous smile or mint infused cucumber cocktail—but in darkness.

So, rest your head on your knees, sweet soul and brave the dark.

Take your hand.

Fall face-first into your own arms.

Into the vast unknown.

Into pulsating black holes of panic and worry.

Fall the fuck apart, unraveling the tight, sequined seams you’ve kept sealed up for so long

Break.

Open.

Reach inside.

And discover your real-self, like hidden treasure.

Light a single match of strength, of quiet courage, and become your own flame; your own rock; your own whisper of fierce inspiration.

We forget, but we can always hold ourselves in a delicious embrace—in the midst of the sh*t-storms, the raining tears, the aching pain, the agony.

It is the most profound thing we could ever do. Ever.

To embrace ourselves in the tough moments is to embrace life itself—in all of it’s chaotic, glittering glory.

So please don’t push your pain aside, or pretend the hollow ache in your chest doesn’t exist.

Don’t throw your tears down a deep well, deeming them crazy, dumb, annoying emotions.

Don’t cover up the scabs of scarring disappointment, the anger that simmers like a sad soup in your bones, the bad memories that haunt you at midnight, like ghosts.

Feel it—all of it.

Let it guide you.

Pain is a teacher.

Pain is raw, terra-cotta colored clay—it can be transformed into succulent wisdom and art and divine beauty.

You can be transformed, too, but only by the sheer effort of your own two hands.

So, don’t wait a second more.

Surrender to your tears.

Be invited into darkness, into suffering, into fear.

Go.

Say yes to this most sacred invitation.

As the whistling wind surrounds you,

Howling secrets, like liquid rubies, in your ear.

The pain you carry is not a burden

But a burning message from your soul

Will you listen?

Will you let yourself fall?

Will you open your arms

And catch yourself?

~

Relephant:

For the Sensitive Warriors: It’s Time to Step into the Light.

xxx

Author: Sarah Harvey

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: Flickr/Holly Lay