Empowerment comes when you no longer identify with the struggle

I’ve had it hard. I’ve been stepped on, abused, ignored, taken advantage of, forced to fit into a box.

It’s amazing that you’ve made it this far.

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It’s still not easy. There are still those trying to hold us back, telling us that things are better now, that we should be thankful for what we have and let go of the past, as if the past doesn’t echo into the present moment, as if they know our struggle, as if they aren’t responsible for our struggle. How can a man know what it’s like to be a woman? How can a white person know what it’s like to be black? How can a local know what it’s like to be a refugee? How can a Christian know what it’s like to be a Muslim or a Jew? How can someone healthy know what it’s like to have a mental illness or a handicap? How can someone whose been born with opportunities know what it’s like to have none?

Yes, your struggle is real and still part of your every day life.

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Even as we improve our position, even as we finally feel free to speak our voice, even if things ARE different now, they still don’t know what we’ve been through and what we still go through. It’s a shame that others can’t see it, it’s a crime!

It’s a possibility that you will never be able to convince them.

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It’s not fair! How can I sit back when nothing has been done to rectify the countless others who have suffered as I have, not to mention those who have suffered far worse than I?

What about you? Who are you without your story? Is your struggle not part of who you are?

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Of course it is. How could it not be?

So how do you expect to stop struggling if you’ve decided to internalize the struggle. The struggle has become fused with your identity. Of course it’s been hard and of course you deserve better, but you will never find it as long as you see yourself as the victim.

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But I AM a victim.

Yes you are, and you will continue to be so long as you allow yourself to feel like the victim. You can’t change another, but you can change yourself with enough determination.

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I’ve been through enough already.

Yes you have. Rather than dwell on it, realize your resilience, you are amazing to have made it here, to this moment of inspiration. You’ve happened upon these words because you’ve called them forth. Focus on that. You are not weak, you are capable of anything, do you not see that?

Who are you without the struggle? Answer that, and live it and you will be free. You are love and hope and creativity. You are infinite possibilities. Recognize it. Be it. Yes it’s hard. It’s impossible if you believe it to be. But you are better than that. You have that much power! You’ve made it this far.

There is only one step between you and liberation, you are almost there. Open your eyes and see the possibilities waiting for you on the other side. There are countless allies waiting for you, allies that you don’t even know you have. Remember that you are never alone and that you were born to be the most perfect version of yourself that you can imagine.

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Confessions of the Damaged - a collection of short stories

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