“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” - Kahlil Gibran
As I stared up the sky from the balcony of my childhood bedroom, the darkness filled me whole. The stars were a whispering reminder of everything I built, my life ready to be built up again. I had finally been released from the hospital, and while I still had so much healing and processing left, in that moment, everything was calm.
I had not been outside in days, and the fresh night air bristled my skin in the most beautiful way. I had walked around the backyard I grew up in, so grateful for my steps, for my life, for my freedom. Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.*
*A quote from my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut, "Slaughterhouse Five"
I had sung Hashkivenu and Shelter Us with my parents in the cold night air, on the wet grass in the starry night. As I stood under the stars outside my bedroom, alone and at peace, I sang "From Now On", from the movie musical The Greatest Showman. The words had never felt so true.
