And you'll get through anything

Life does break you.

As unfair as it seems, you just won’t get through it without bruises. You’ll live through situations you never knew you could handle. And normally, you wouldn’t. The only time you’re strong enough to live them is the exact time they happen.

Life only gives you as much as you can carry. And you don’t know how strong you are until you have to be. And you are.

But being strong doesn’t mean no crying. It doesn’t mean you won’t crawl in the darkest corner of your house and stay in a child’s pose for a while.

Life breaks you and for a moment it hurts so bad everything stops. Yet still somehow everything keeps going on as normal. A mother hurrying to a bus, dragging their child behind them. A familiar face sitting in the café, probably having the same pie you always get. The same red van stopping where it usually stops. And the trees holding their line like they usually do. Perhaps a few leaves falling in the wind, the sky grey as ever. The minutes and hours pass you by, the numbers change on your phone.

There’s sadness in knowing all that, but I’m calmly writing it down: Life breaks you.

But you get to live it.

You get to ask the important questions. You get to ask the dumb ones, too. Those are especially important. Even if it was the world’s greatest film in a room full of nerds and they would look at you like crazy when you dared to ask: what movie is that? And of course – it would be Forrest Gump.

You don’t need to know all that and do all this. But you get to.

You get to ask the most important question, which is this: What matters?

Love.

The moment when I hug my loved ones and close my eyes to really take in the hug. The moment when I laugh so hard at my sister tears start to fall from my eyes. The moment when I fall asleep holding a hand that loves me. The moment I look at the beautiful lights on our terrace and cars pass by.

The moment matters, where I ask my friend how is she doing and listen her moan about work and crazy customers. The moment matters, where I tell a funny story and everyone laughs. The times, where I’ve had coffee with family. Just sitting by the table and being there.

Life does break you. But you get to live it.

And one morning, you’ll notice that you’re watching deer in the valley, while a thick morning mist surrounds you. You’ll feel the cold air on your skin, but your muscles are doing the work. You are walking, running, falling and stopping. You are here, as are the stars on the sky.

And you’ll get through anything.