could hurt people heal people instead

most everyone, at some point in their life, will walk around with a fractured heart

the clues are there, if we look close enough

in the sunlight, you can see the cracks in their eyes

or that dip in their smile

the break in their voice

the trembling in their hands

most everyone, to some extent, has felt shattered

fragmented

dissolved

splintered

torn

we understand this feeling

it isn't foreign to humanity

it isn't foreign to me

you may see this as despairing

a world full of cracked people

walking around like we are whole

maybe there's no way to sugar coat it

it's impossible to ignore the deep wounds the world holds close to its core

it's just a fractured world, i suppose

the mere thought makes my mouth taste like sour lemonade

it goes down a little too strong

being broken is something we all understand

maybe hurt people could heal people instead

why couldn't this shared acknowledgment of pain increase the compassion in our hearts

or the softness in our responses

or the empathy we carry

could we not try and ease the hearts of those suffering

with a small intentional act

but i understand it's hard to be soft when our fractured edges still bleed

when the need to protect ourselves runs deep

but what if love ran deeper?

being cracked, splintered and shattered is part of this human experience

but maybe, if we see it in others, and offer our own splintered hands

we can help make someone else feel seen

feel known

feel loved

and we can remind others that goodness still exists

and if you don't personally see it, maybe you need to be it

perhaps we would all hurt a little less if we all loved a little deeper

make it hard wired into our nature, like the deep roots of the shepherd's tree

to love just as deeply as we ache

sure, life doesn't owe us anything

and others would argue that we do not owe anyone anything else either

if you could hear my heart, hear me on this

i am not here to argue nor invalidate your life

i am not here to tell you that your responses are not grounded in reason or cause

your experiences are valid and strong and true

because of course, we don't have to love deeper or be kinder or act softer

sometimes we simply don't have the capacity

and sometimes we genuinely don't want to

it's the human experience; a mess of what ifs and why nots

but i am simply here to ask a question; to spark a thought

because of course, we don't have to love deeper or kinder or softer

but what if we could?

and what if we did?

---