Feeling broken is something many of us feel at some point in our lives. It’s certainly something I felt after adopting my younger son, and probably long before that. Carol Gavhane of Asha Blooms and I had a conversation on feeling broken through our infertility journeys on the latest Coffee with Intention Podcast episode. She talked about how her journey, which fell into dark days, left her feeling broken. But she used the term “broken open,” which I loved, because it completely opened her up. Because of it, she and her husband paused to ask, “What is it we really want out of life?” and they ended up completely shifting their lives.

So what if we shifted how we see feeling broken? What if instead of just seeing it as a deeply dark stage of life, which it does feel like, feeling broken meant we were breaking open to who we truly are? What if the thing that is breaking isn’t the real you? What if the thing that is breaking is actually the version of us that is the shell or armor we wear to hide who we truly are, to help us feel safe and protect us from being hurt? What if breaking was actually about emerging and getting ready to step out of whatever metaphorical cage we were in and and step into the world as who we truly are?

Carol and I both had the experience or being broken open and looking back now, we recognize that for the gift that it was. Transformation doesn’t come easily. It is incredibly painful but on the other side of that is incredible growth. Being open feels raw and vulnerable but also alive and freeing. So what if we were to embrace the feeling of brokenness? Because the reality is, we are stronger than we think and once we get through it, we will see who we truly are.

Photo by Engin Akyurt at Pexels.