A reminder for the Survivor who’s ready to stop explaining her healing.I used to spend my energy trying to be understood.Trying to soften
A reminder for the Survivor who’s ready to stop explaining her healing.
I used to spend my energy trying to be understood.
Trying to soften the truth.
Trying to find the words that wouldn’t scare them.
Trying to explain my pain in a way that wouldn’t make them uncomfortable.
But now I know:
I don’t owe understanding to those who benefitted from my silence.
I don’t owe clarity to people who thrived while I disappeared.
If they didn’t listen when I was whispering,
they don’t deserve access now that I speak with strength.
If they didn’t believe me when I was broken,
they don’t get to rewrite my story now that I’m healing.
I release the need to be palatable.
I release the need to be agreeable.
I release the need to make my survival comfortable for anyone else.
Healing doesn’t always look graceful from the outside.
That doesn’t make it any less holy.
This is the new agreement I make with myself:
I protect my peace before I explain my decisions.
I trust my memory before I defend my truth.
I believe myself before anyone else needs to.
“I no longer shape-shift to be acceptable.
I rise, as I am.”
There is no award for being quiet about what hurt you.
There is no prize for carrying shame that was never yours.
There is only this truth: You survived. You’re rising. And you do not need their permission to be whole.
