There is a point when pain crystallizes into a shell.

What is a shell?

It implies something hard, cold, and introverted. It shields something that is vulnerable, and hides the tender flesh that resides within. Protection - a shield to keep the elements out.

When we think of emotional shells, we envision a hard, calcified state. We think of words like jaded, bitterness, and dullness. We see a guarded stone wall, surrounded by a murky moat.

But a shell can be beautiful too. Observe the swirling patterns on the intricate hexagons of the tortoise. When I think of shells, I envision graceful spirals and swirls, a lovely multitude of colours. Its beauty does not fade, not even upon closer inspection - there may be speckles of dust, gentle stains, but it is no less beautiful.

Perhaps this is the answer then, to let pain transform oneself into the most beautiful of shells. A shell that chronicles the patterns of experience.

Pain is but a medium for the art form that is life.

Continue to live. Not in, but with this shell.

Live a life, that all may appreciate.