I carried those scars for far too long…

There are pains we learn to carry in silence…

Not because we want to be silent,

but because the first time we tried to speak -

we were met with criticism.

Dismissal.

Embarrassment.

Or worse… nothing at all.

So we stopped speaking.

We locked it away.

We built a life around the ache,

and pretended we were fine.

But we weren’t.

I carried those scars for far too long.

They shaped my breath.

My posture.

My choices.

My relationships.

My worth.

Not because I was weak -

but because no one ever showed me another way.

I didn’t know healing was possible.

I didn’t know love could feel safe.

I didn’t know I was allowed to fall apart

and still be worthy of being held.

My heart didn’t just break once.

It closed.

It froze.

It buried its own voice.

And for years, I lived in the aftermath…

Afraid to trust.

Afraid to feel.

Afraid to be seen.

Until something - some whisper deep inside - began to ask,

“What if this isn’t the end of your story?”

So I began to unravel.

Gently. Slowly.

Through tears, through tremors, through sacred rage and quiet prayers.

I began to meet myself beneath the pain.

And over time…

Not overnight, but over seasons of surrender…

I began to thaw.

I began to breathe.

I began to come back to the woman I truly am.

Now - I am open.

Open to being loved.

Open to loving again.

Open to being fully seen without needing to hide or perform or protect.

Because I remembered the truth:

- Love is not something I have to earn.

- Healing is not something I have to deserve.

- And my softness is not a liability - it is holy.

We need to talk about this.

Because silence breeds shame.

And too many of us are still pretending, when what we really need… is permission to be real.

To be wounded and worthy.

To be healing and holy.

To be seen… and still chosen.

This is what it means to

Awaken By Love.

Marta Stankiewicz