On Pain and Survival

 

 

There is no such thing as getting over something

You will eventually get through it, but a part of

that something will always remain. The tricky bit

is not to let that part be the heaviest piece of you,

to find a place where you can tuck it away like a

tacky old souvenir. Others may tell you to get rid of it,

let it go, but how do you get rid of something that has a

place in your memory? You will find yourself pulling it out,

feeling the pain or fear, or terror once again. The most

difficult task is tucking it away again and again,

until you barely remember it is there. Then, one day, when

you’re dusting off your memories, you will find it, and it may

still hurt, but you can pat yourself on the back and say, “I

got through it.”

 

-Candace Kubinec