Karen Restivo
In Other Words....
From @Brandencollinsworth (Instagram)
Note: Branden continues as the narrator sitting around the table with all the broken parts of
his personality:
The addict slouches in their chair, arms crossed, tapping their fingers.
“You hated me,” they say. “You still do.” I shake my head. “I never hated you. I just didn’t understand.” They scoff. “I was trying to numb the pain.”
“I know,” I whisper. “I see you now.” Their hands stop shaking.
The one who lost everything stares at the table. “We had to let go,” they say.
“It was killing us.” The one who held on too long won’t meet their eyes.
“I wasn’t ready.” They whisper. “Neither was I,” I admit.
And for the first time, they grieve together instead of alone.
The one who forgave speaks softly. “You can stop punishing yourself now,” they say. I hesitate. “You did the best you could,” they continue.
“And when you knew better, you did better.”
Their voice is steady. It does not ask for permission to be believed. I close my eyes. And finally, I let it go.
The one who knew the streets leans back, arms crossed.
“You forget about me?” they ask.
“Never.” I see them - sharp, fast, a survivor. I remember the nights we barely slept. The hunger, the hustle, the instincts that never left.
“I did what I had to,” they say. “And I never said thank you,” I reply. They nod, jaw unclenching.
The future me sits at the head of the table, watching.
They are older. Wiser. Lighter.
They have seen it all.
“What do I need to know?” I ask.
They smile like they’ve seen the ending. “Stop fighting the becoming,” they say.
“Everything that felt like destruction was just making room for you.”
I exhale. Something inside me unlocks.
All of me is here.
The fearless and the fearful.
The wise and the reckless.
The broken and the whole.
No one is missing.
No part of me is left behind.
I see them.
I honor them.
I welcome them home.
And for the first time, I feel completely, entirely here.
With love, Branden
In other words, the broken parts of our personality are part of the ingredient list needed to create authentic power.
The key is to understand that we must embrace every part of ourselves, the good and forgive the bad choices and experiences.
Poet Leonard Cohen’s famous line asserts, “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in,” from his song “Anthem.”
Author Gary Zukav validates this discovery by describing the “broken parts of the personality” as frightened parts driven by fear that resist change and thereby create painful experiences coming from poor choices.
He concludes the healing process involves choosing love over fear repeatedly until the frighten parts of the personality are healed and reconnected.
Once our whole personality aligns with the intentions of our soul, authentic power manifests within us on our journey home.
Karenrestivo57@gmail.com