Where the Lost Wander

by Amy Harmon

“The pain. It’s worth it. The more you love, the more it hurts. But it’s worth it. It’s the only thing that is.”

“Are you angry with the bird because he can fly, or angry with the horse for her beauty, or angry with the bear because he has fearsome teeth and claws? Because he’s bigger than you are? Stronger too? Destroying all the things you hate won’t change any of that. You still won’t be a bear or a bird or a horse. Hating men won’t make you a man. Hating your womb or your breasts or your own weakness won’t make those things go away. You’ll still be a woman. Hating never fixed anything. It seems simple, but most things are. We just complicate them. We spend our lives complicating what we would do better to accept. Because in acceptance, we put our energies into transcendence.”

“And I’ve found that men are just frightened boys. God gave you stronger bodies to make up for your weaker spines.”

That’s what hope feels like: the best air you’ve ever breathed after the worst fall you’ve ever taken. It hurts.

“Sometimes when we think too long and too hard, we let fear get a foothold.

“Some trouble can’t be avoided. Some you must face. Job was the best of men. Yet trouble still came.”