The Dark Lonely Cold Heart

 

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

I recently visited a place that was once lively and full of life. The men would gather and have conversations. The children would laugh as they played. The women would be walking towards their homestead to prepare meals. The young men would try to woo fine ladies. But this time, things were different. It was silent. It was lonely. It was scary. It was empty. The roads were empty. But it did not just happen overnight. There were battles, fights, and mistrust. There was a heart that was broken. While nature spoke to the soul, the eyes of the people wandered in mistrust. The only time it felt like there was life was when some men gathered to watch football. This got me thinking a lot. 

Isn't what happens to us? Life can pull us down to a point where once warm becomes cold? Are we not walking around dressed elegantly, but our eyes betray us because the pain can be seen through? Some people have gone through pain after pain, betrayal after betrayal. The joy that you felt is no longer there. The zeal that you had is completely gone. Your driving force is the pain. The makeup hides the sunken eyes from the tears. Pain can make you lose yourself. Pain can make you forget who you are. Pain can make you feel like it is the end of the world. Pain can make you be in a crowd yet absent. 

Circumstances can make our hearts cold, lonely, and dark. However, this is not how we were created to live. Life is to be enjoyed and not endured. Just like the young men's laughter was heard, I hope your laughter can be heard. I hope you get to a point where the pain of yesterday will not rob the joy of today and hope for tomorrow. I will not tell you not to forget the pain and betrayal. It is close to impossible, but I dare you to choose to rise above the tides, acknowledge the pain and how it made you feel or changed you, and pick the lesson. I will not tell you that you will laugh every moment, as life has its share of ups and downs. I will challenge you to work on yourself to a point you will no longer be captive of the pain. I will tell you that you are worthy of love and belonging to the right people and you do not have to stick somewhere or with someone out of fear. It is a new month, welcome to May. I am now telling you that you do not have to dwell in a cold, lonely, dark heart. I know you are worthy. I believe in you. I see something in you. I know the journey has been quite something but I hope you use this month to make the step into who you should become, re-discover yourself, and let go of the burden of pain. I hope with this month you allow yourself to let go of the things that have robbed you of the joy of living.