The Places I've Cried in Public

by Holly Bourne

You can never know if a moment is going to make your life better or rip it apart and piss on the pieces.

We leave behind echoes of our lives everywhere we go, trapping them into the fabric of the world around us.

I guess one of the biggest misconceptions about love is that you can only love one person at one time. Whereas I’m starting to think hearts can compartmentalize. That a heart can grow walls in itself, with chambers specially reserved for each person we fall in love with – making it possible to have feelings for one person without that impacting the feelings you have for another.

You can’t force pain to leave until it’s ready to. Like the most annoying party guest, it only leaves in its own sweet goddamned time. Meanwhile there’s nothing you can do but carry it until it’s ready to be released. But understanding the pain – why it’s there, why it’s not leaving – it makes that burden much easier to bear.

“One of the things the brain does to feel safe, is it creates an intense bond with the person who hurts us. It’s the ego’s way of protecting itself.