Living While Breaking

on carrying what can't be fixed

Acts of Resistance

grief edition

Let the ache arrive / and do not rush it away. / Rise without pretending. / Let the morning come uninvited. / Say no to the urge to be fine. / Light the candle anyway / even when the scent breaks you open. / Take a slow breath / answer no one. / Leave the bed undone. / Sit in the dent where they once were. / Step outside / notice the shape of the clouds / name them if you must. / Write their name on paper / then fold it into your pocket like a prayer. / Eat what reminds you of them / even if you can’t swallow the memory. / Cry in the grocery store / keep walking. / Let the laundry sit / let the dust settle / let the day be unfinished. / Whisper their joke to no one / laugh alone. / Walk the familiar trail. / Notice the silence between birdsong. / Hold a stone / feel its weight / remember yours. / Let grief sit beside you like an old friend / don’t send her away. / Watch the kettle steam / watch the world keep moving. / Talk to God in the car / or don’t / silence is also prayer. / Buy flowers for the table / knowing they’ll wilt / love them still. / Say no to busy. / Yes to slow. / Yes to stillness. / Keep their sweater that doesn’t fit. / Memory rarely does. / Hold the photo without bracing for the break. / Speak their name into the room. / Whisper it to the wind. / Call to hear the voicemail message. / Open a window. / Let the air rearrange the grief. / Let the light find you. / Tend a plant. / Let it be proof that something still grows. / Refuse to apologize for remembering. / Refuse to rush what cannot be hurried. / Refuse to heal neatly. / Refuse to harden. / Make something beautiful from what remains. / Live as proof that love is still here. / These are your rebellions. These are the quiet revolutions. They do not fix you, they keep you going. Small mercies of the mourning. Ways of staying tender, when everything else asks you not to.

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Inspired by Laura Wifler’s Acts of Resistance, this post is part of a blog hop with Waffles and Writing! Click here to read the next one in the series!

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