This series is about the recovering heart of a mother. Someone who has been through more pain than you care to imagine.
People would always describe her as someone who had a “big heart.” Little did we know that her heart was really enlarged – literally speaking. Consequently, she suffered a massive stroke.
Witnessing her example, I believe that matters of the heart can weigh so heavily on the body. It can either lift us or kill us.
They say that when you close your fist, it represents your heart. Maybe because it is our heart that fights for the person we are and the people we love.
One of the many lessons I learned is that we need to be careful of whose hearts we align ourselves with during battle.
The allies of our heart greatly define the person we are.
Choose allies who have been through the darkest nights but greet each day with a smile.
Allies who will light your light when your sparkle is weak.
Befriend the sun and the moon. Make peace with darkness and light.
1:33 a.m., as I write this in the dark, I contemplate the light that brought me through a pitch black time in my life.
I remember, writing a letter – I’ll share with you later.
It’s about the beauty of a heartache and how it can withstand storms the world has not seen.
1:39 a.m., listening to the song Litrato by Callalily.
Dearest Glorious Heartaches,
To expect a perfect and unbroken heart is absurd. Everyone has already been broken. The difference lies with how one handles the painful experience – either with grace or madness. But be mindful, because seeming grace may be catastrophic while outright madness could be logical.
No matter how many storms a heart has weathered, trust that there will be more. However, no storm is alike. Just as the way raindrops fall so uniquely every time it pours, every tear you shed is different from the tears you have shed and will shed. But know that the clouds that once carried an outpour of love will not come again in the same way, shape and form. Love sometimes comes as light drizzles, rain showers and typhoons with thunderstorms. It can be crazy electric and cause a flooding of emotions. However, love that guises themselves in clouds will always leave with the wind.
Aim for a love that does not disguise itself as anything other than what it truly is, because even if there may be no perfect and unbroken heart in this world, one must keep themselves hopeful that there is a real love which is pure and steadfast. After cloudy love leaves, do not be angry. Instead, be thankful for it allows you to see again the brilliance of the sun and the growth of yourself.
Every heartache gloriously serves its purpose, just as the gift of rain helps plants grow towards the sky. Wear your broken pieces as badges of honor, for you risked to love even if you know it could break you.
Subjects: Mama, Marie, Pepito & Hannah
Photography: Ritz Marie
With special thanks to music.
