To You, From Me

Dear Readers,

There may come a day when the people who have hurt you the most will be staring you in the face. Not because you went looking for them, but because they came to find you.

They may not have come because they wanted to hurt you. They may not have come because they wanted to be your friend. But they definitely will have come to be near you.

Because the weak can see the strength in others. And they want to be near it, hoping that it will rub off on them somehow. But it never will. These people may have been able to steal power from you in the past but that does not mean that they will be able to take it from you again.

We have all spent so much time and energy healing, growing past the pain, making peace with our old nightmares, and recognizing the strength hidden within ourselves. Know that it has always been there, inside you. Your strength is what has always held you together. And when these people come into your life again, you may be able to avoid them. You may be able to hide from them. But you will never be able to prevent them from entering your world. Because they exist in your world. And just like you, they are free to come and go as they please. The one thing you can do is keep going.

If seeing these people makes you cry, then cry. If it makes you angry, be angry. And if it stresses you out, be stressed. These are all very natural feelings to have. After all, it wasn't your choice for these people to be in your life. They imposed themselves on you, and you may react in any manner you choose. But remember how far you have come. Remember who got you there. Surround yourself with friends and family that will support you. Lean on them. They won't mind.

The weak will come and go. They will stop and stare in awe at you as you live your life beyond the hurt that they inflicted. And they will wonder if it ever really affected you at all. But the weak are unable to accept pain. Unable to accept it when they feel it, and unable to accept when they cause it in others. So they may wonder, but they will never know. They will never understand the journey we've been on. They will never fully grasp how strong we are. But they will never stop trying to catch a glimpse of that strength. Never.

Thank you for reading,
Jocelyn