Given too much to carry too soon, Strength learned to survive in silence and shame for the comfort of those around them. With no place to speak or steady shoulder to lean on, they learned to hold their truth close to their core. They shielded themself away from those that could not embrace their struggle with their imagination. They envisioned building an inner fortress for their dreams and their burdens out of every scrap of hope they could gather. They held themself together with the mere promise of tomorrow.

But this level of endurance was never meant to be sustained. Nor were their burdens meant to be contained within an isolated fortress. Unable to continue an impossible cycle, Strength learned to fall apart in plain sight. Among the wreckage of what they thought was resilience, they found agony and fear that needed gentle tending. In the ruins of their shame, they found their innate capacity for (self)compassion. In the wake of chaos and destruction, they found profound acceptance. In having the courage to fall apart, Strength discovered trust in their ability to put themself back together.