When we say we have “a breakdown,” usually, the thing breaking down is our walls. Once our last lines of psychological defense have fallen, we are left weak and vulnerable.
It is often, however, those very same walls we were meant to break through to begin with. While they were up, they kept us from seeing the bigger picture. Now, we can find the right path.
It is unfortunate that it takes a complete leveling of said walls for us to break out of our shell, but that’s what rock bottom is for: The tougher the nut you want to crack, the harder you’ll have to smash it against the stone.
Humans are masters at self-deception. We can bury our emotions deeper than the world’s strongest drill can go. When decades of half-processed feelings are unearthed, it’s not a pretty experience, but it is only after those emotions are exposed to the sunlight that their true meaning can finally unfold.
“Breakdowns create breakthroughs,” Russ says. It’s rarely one or the other. Every crisis eventually brings clarity, and every wall is both a protector and an obstacle.
We can’t always choose the timeline of our renovations, but once construction gets underway, rest assured that, soon, your house will stand anew – and each time, when the sawdust finally settles, it will shine a little brighter than before.