When Holding On Hurts

The cost of holding

We hold on for many reasons. Some are love. Some are fear of what comes after. A role, a promise, a story about who we must be: we keep carrying it long after it has stopped carrying us.

What she cuts

Kali holds a sword. Those who love her say it cuts only what binds: the knot of fear, the old vow made in a frightened hour, the thread that keeps pulling you back into the same harm.

She does not cut what is yours to keep. She cuts what you could not cut alone, because your own hand kept shaking.

Severance is not abandonment

There is a difference between ending a tie that harms you and walking away from a duty you hold dear. A mother still cares for her child. A woman may still keep her word. Kali’s sword does not cut love. It cuts the belief that you must carry everything, and the ties that were never truly yours.

Not every ending is today

Some endings ripen slowly. Grief cannot be hurried, and the cut is not always yours to make this week. Some endings need others beside you: a friend, an elder, someone who knows the law.

Kali’s time is not the clock’s time. Seeing clearly what must end is already the beginning.