By Erin Infantino

Sometimes courage comes as a whisper. Sometimes courage is done through small acts of bravery. Sometimes courage shows up when you’re nervous about a new job but you take a deep breath and walk through those doors on your first day.

And sometimes courage comes when you are digging deep down into your heart and pulling out more of the muck that has settled over the years. That's what my courage is like anyway.

It’s a constant use of all of my energy and strength to lift out the broken shards of glass that settled deep into my soul.

Sometimes courage is looking in the darkest corners of the world within you, to find the lost and hidden pieces that were locked away or forgotten... and then finding your way back through hell to reach the light on the other side. Sometimes courage is sliding back that deadbolt on the attic door of your mind to let some light shine in.

What does it look like?

You and those lost pieces of you... standing side by side, hand in hand, on the edge of a cliff looking far, far down into the hollows where ashes smolder... and rubble from all of your journey’s battles remains.

You both sit there; you and your re-discovered you, garbed in armor and breathing deep breaths while taking in all that you conquered so you can once again see the light.

You bravely revisit the demons; the ones you thought you hid from, and slowly you recognize them again. You see that most of what you thought were demons were actually pieces of your soul that got stuck in time, held as prisoner by its traumas. You held yourself, and softly spoke the truth... over and over.

“You are worthy. You are safe. You are empowered. You can come home now.”

This courage is one that starts as a nausea-inducing chokehold. It’s truly a war that rages inside. But it is through this very war that we can feel warmth, rest our turmoil, and breath deep, fresh air (or hope) into our lives again.

Your armor is dented and scratched, but when the ashes and rubble settle... the sunlight shines through brilliantly... gleaming off your armor. It served you well, and will serve others well too brave soul.

You are new. Your soul is set free. You are a courageous warrior. You are a Phoenix rising.

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Erin Infantino is a makeup artist, business owner, CEO and woman who cares about how you feel when you look in the mirror. She's someone who endeavors to make women feel beautiful inside and out. Erin's goal is to help women match their outside beauty with their internal strength and beauty. She has a desire to build women's self-esteem in hopes that they will begin to own their self-worth.