If you read my initial Spring Into a New You post then you know that I’m enthralled by all things SPRING. It just seems to send an electricity through the air, awakening a part of our souls that has been long hibernating through a cold winter. The sun whispers to even the smallest of seeds that it’s time to rise and break free. Brown, brittle, bare trees become blossoms of radiant greens. Blankets of emerald cover the dusty fields. Empty nests are reinhabited by their former winged occupants. Spring visits to tell us that our wilting is over and it is now time for growth and development. Sprint Into a New You: A Season of Growth & Development describes this as it covers the first meaning of Spring listed below. Today, however, I’m going to focus on the second definition: a whole different type of “spring.”

Spring (n.) \ ˈspriŋ : 1 a time or season of growth or development; 2 an elastic body or device that recovers its original shape when released after being distorted; 3 the act or an instance of leaping up or forward

Spring (v.) \ ˈspriŋ : 4 to be resilient or elastic; to come into being; 5 to leap or jump up suddenly; 6 to release or cause to be released from confinement or custody 

Spring (n.) \ ˈspriŋ : 1 an elastic body or device that recovers its original shape when released after being distorted

Mattress. Slinky. Tigger’s tail. Those are the images that came to mind when I initially read this particular denotation. Another picture that manifests in my mind is a phone cord (a 90’s artifact, kids) being stretched, bent, and twirled as I lie on my bed, gossiping with my BFF’s on 3-way. Miraculously, as soon as I let go or untangled it, there the cord went– back to its original shape.

The downfall of us not being inanimate objects, such as my pretty sweet slinky pictured above, is that we [humans] can’t so easily recover after being distorted. We don’t just return to our original selves after we’ve been stretched, bent, or tied into knots. I mean, how could we??

“You’ll never be the same.”

…I have heard that↑phrase in various contexts and– possibly due to the fact that I’m a routine-driven creature who struggles with change– it just always left me feeling unsettled. Actually, if I’m being totally honest, the thought of never being the “same” after my heartbreak used to scare the Bejeezus out of me. I didn’t want to be so messed up that I was never myself again! I just wanted to be back to the old me. Never in a million years would I have realized that the NEW ME would be better than I ever could’ve imagined.

I’m pretty sure there were a few times in middle school, high school, and even in college when I literally thought my world was OVER. (Clearly, I wasn’t dramatic at all…) But no, seriously, I would have sworn on everything that I was heart-broken over this boy, that friend, or being told no. And honestly, I would just like to say that teenage emotions are no joke and life is hard. However, it wasn’t until I actually had my first genuine, soul-shattering heart-break that I knew the difference between that type of sadness and disappointment vs. the devastation of a truly broken heart. {{Broken is such an inadequate word to describe the searing pain you feel when going through actual pain like that. Shattered? Destroyed? Gutted, maybe? I don’t even know if there is an English word that could encompass all of the misery that comes with that sort of trauma.. maybe French can do it justice.}}

When you go through something devastating like heartbreak, it fundamentally changes [or distorts] you. It almost feels as though there is nothing that can satiate your need to just feel ‘okay’ again. You live in constant fear that you will never recover. No music is loud enough to drown out your thoughts. No Fireball is strong enough to numb the pain. There aren’t enough people in the world who could make you feel less alone. You’re hit with a blow so powerful that you’re sent plummeting down to the depths of darkness.

NO ONE that matters expects you to be the same old you after something like that. You don’t just recover your original shape as soon as you’re released… instead, you become even better. 

You transform.

Piece by piece, [cue Kelly Clarkson] these spectacular, sturdy fragments just arrive and slide into position, fitting perfectly into the empty spaces, completing a perfectly imperfect work of art alternately known as YOU.

If you have recently been released after being bent, broken, or bruised, consider yourself blessed and please know that you are not alone. Your journey and your hurt are completely unique, but there will always be others out there who have at least been down a similar path. Find them. Reach out to people to whom you can relate (misery does love company, right? 😉). But seriously, find out what other people have done to move past the pain. How did they get through it?

YOU are in charge of your recovery.

Accept that it is no one else’s responsibility to pick you up and put you back together. Above all, accept that you will not recover your original self because you are not a spring. You are a human. You are a fighter. Now is the time to recreate yourself. Claw your way out of the darkness and actively seek the light.

Embrace the opportunity to become a better version of yourself than you ever thought possible.

What are you working to overcome? Have you gone through something that caused you to transform? Share your tips or questions for recovering and recreating yourself! ♥

*WATCH FOR MY NEXT •••Spring Into the New You••• POST→ Leaping Forward!!

This post was written as part of our “March Bloggers Challenge” hosted by Miss Molly! Huge thanks to the following Bloggers who joined in the fun! Readers, feel free to check out their March posts!

https://www.earthtoconnie.com   https://www.avidreaderdiary.wordpress.com   https://www.Spiceandnice.bloghttps://meganelizabethlifestyle.com  https://peerlessprose.com/blog   www.dammitkaren.com  www.maybemissmolly.co.uk https://bookmarkingstories.wordpress.com    www.countingbluebirds.com  https://lifestylesteps.video.blog www.smartmoneygreenplanet.com   https://watchaguru.com  http://www.lifemakeupstyle.wordpress.com   http://thedecemberedit.com  www.thewriteone.home.blog