We’re All A Little Broken And That’s Okay

Everyone has something sensitive to hide whether they can consciously recall it right away or not. Think about it. You are walking down the street of whatever downtown is your downtown.

As you walk and window shop you pass a couple different kinds of people that your brain sorts into different boxes almost immediately without you even thinking about it. The teenage couple holding hands probably go into the “younger and dumber” box. The middle aged lady walking her poodle goes into the “probably has more money than I will ever even consider having” box. The homeless man sitting on the park bench with his sharpie and cardboard sign goes into another box. The businessman screaming on his cell phone fits into another one. And this continues with every person you pass.

You see them all but don’t really see them at all. You don’t know if that teenage couple has to deal with bullies every day or if the lady with the dog lost is a widow. Each person you pass probably has something about their life that you could never guess and never see but that one aspect hurts them every day. You just can’t normally see it unless you are placed in a situation where it becomes relevant.

When Marley & Me came out, viewers (and readers) everywhere were drowning in ugly-cry tears from the semi-fictitious life of a dog on a big screen. But those tears came from somewhere deep inside, maybe some people had dogs of their own in their younger years, maybe they were picturing the lives of their future pups, maybe others never could have a dog and lived vicariously through the movie (and others like it, this is just a single example). The point is, something as simple as a dog movie can bring so much pain to some people because we don’t always know what’s hiding in everyone’s story.

A lovely blogger, and novelist named Holly L. Wright, once said, “many people are living fractured. Broken. They look quite normal on the outside. They go to work. Laugh at lunch. Smile until you touch their broken place,” and she is absolutely right. Everyone has their own broken place. Some people might even have broken places. But don’t mistake broken here to mean the same thing as damaged. These piece of you don’t mean you are shattered, they are simply more fragile parts.

BUT, THESE FRAGILE PLACES MAKE US WHO WE ARE TODAY.

It’s not our wanna-be picture perfect self who makes us who we are, it’s our imperfections. Our indents, our mistakes, our mishaps, and that sensitive part of us we hide. That is what makes us who we are, that is what shows us we are living our life.

Although we all have something emotional to hide, we can’t avoid these places. If we do, we aren’t living our life to the fullest extent. Let’s be real, life is a lot more interesting without the messy bits. If it were easy, it would be boring. This is why I challenge you to wear your heart and soul on your sleeve. We are more beautiful when she show our broken bits because they show our courage. It is okay to be broken. But you have to keep moving forward, and thinking positive.

Originally published on Unwritten in collaboration with Allie Braun and Kaitlin Livingston

Featured Image via Expofilm.