Isn’t it funny how sometimes the people with the worst pasts create the best futures? The world gave them every reason to become cold. Hateful. Closed off. They experienced things that would justify bitterness for the rest of their lives. No one would blame them for shutting down completely. But they didn’t.
They went the other way. And I think the reason is simple.
People with bad pasts know exactly what that pain feels like.
They’ve lived it. They’ve carried it. They know how much damage it does. So instead of spreading it onto others, they absorb it.
They refuse to pass it on. They become the person they needed
when they were going through it. They protect others from
what no one protected them from. That’s not weakness.
That’s the hardest kind of strength there is.
Choosing softness when life made you hard.
Choosing kindness when cruelty would be easier.
The people who had every excuse to be cold
but chose warmth anyway?
Those are the strongest people you’ll ever meet.

philosophaire
Art: Lakan Olivares