my heart grew + it cracked.

i read once that in order to love you must pay the price of grief.

i wanted to reject it. spit it out like bad coffee.

but i’m learning that everything in our world goes hand-in-hand with another.

you cannot have joy without sorrow.

love without grief.

and i’m swallowing the hard to grasp truth that this is okay.

it’s not only okay, it’s necessary.

to love anything. to truly love is to pay the price for grief.

we do not only grieve death,

we grieve letting something we desperately love go for something that is better for them.

we grieve what could have been.

we grieve what is for what has to be.

we grieve consequences, mistakes, choices, etc.

if i want the love that i dream about, the love that is vulnerable and good and kind and whole,

then i must accept grief with open arms.

my heart grew and it cracked.

but after time, little flowers started to grow

where i finally let the light in.

the cost is worth it.

love is worth it.

grief is worth it.