This is a question I have been contemplating a lot lately because life doesn't always present people with ideal circumstances. When those circumstances arise, it's easy to feel as though you are simply "dealing" with them. However, in reality, you might just be tucking them away to be pulled out during other life events.
Over the past couple of years, I made some significant life changes. I quit a job I had planned to build a future around, got married, and packed up everything to pursue a full-time life in an RV so my husband could continue traveling for work. Along the way, I experienced extreme loneliness, had a baby, navigated postpartum challenges, and now I’m trying to figure out how to be the perfect mom and wife while still showing up for myself. This is a lot to handle. Throughout it all, I've felt both immense joy and substantial anger. Anger that I allowed to build up without truly understanding its source.
It wasn't because I left my job—though I had invested deeply in it—because that position was draining, and I believe it was God's way of telling me that it wasn’t part of my path anymore. It wasn't because I chose to leave everything I knew to travel full-time with my husband; I needed to experience new things, and doing so with my best friend has been a bonus. I didn’t feel lonely because of my choices; instead, I had opportunities to explore new places. The postpartum journey didn't break me, but I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity instead of fully embracing the precious newborn snuggles, moments I can't get back. Lastly, trying to be perfect for everyone is unrealistic. In reality, we can’t be everything for everyone, and if people genuinely care about you, they will accept you for who you are in life.
The root of my anger comes from not having dealt with my past. Yes, we can say we’ve gone to therapy and expressed our feelings, which can lighten our emotional load. But if you don’t truly identify the parts of yourself that are shattered and take the time to piece them back together, you will always step on glass and feel hurt repeatedly.
How do you pick up the pieces if that’s something you’re hesitant to confront? This is where bravery comes into play. This is where you need to show up for yourself in a different way—not just to get through it, but to become a better person. You need to dig deep and discover what has caused you pain and understand why it hurts you. Sit with that pain. Then, tell the part of you that was broken that you are no longer living in those moments. You aren’t the person they said you were or the person you told yourself you were because of their actions. Life offers you countless opportunities to embrace unforgettable moments, but you can't fully appreciate them if you remain in pain from the tiny pieces of glass embedded in your heart.
I'll leave you with an important story that I hope motivates you to remove that shattered glass that has been hurting you.
“The Shattered Mirror”
There once was a woman who walked through life holding a shattered mirror. She didn’t know it was broken—only that every time she looked at someone else through it, she saw pieces of herself that she hated.
One day, someone got too close. They said the wrong thing, in the wrong tone, on the wrong day. And the woman lashed out.
“You always make me feel worthless,” she snapped.
But the truth was… she already felt that way long before the words were spoken, long before the person arrived.
Her mirror had been broken by someone else long ago—words never healed, wounds never acknowledged. So now, every reflection she saw was distorted by the cracks she had never faced.
That’s what unhealed pain does.
It turns into blame.
It disguises itself as protection.
It convinces you that someone else is the problem—because looking inward hurts too much.
But healing begins the moment you stop trying to fix other people’s reflections…
And finally, look at your own mirror.
Love,
MM
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