The old jacket that still fits

Let the hard years make you better, not bitter.

There's a jacket in the back of most closets, creased and softened by years of wear, maybe from a difficult season when you reached for it every morning. It doesn't look broken, though—it looks lived in, more supple than it was new. That's the difference between letting hard years crack you open and letting them close you off. Tonight, when someone frustrates you or disappointment lands, notice what you reach for: the habit of bitterness, or the harder, quieter work of letting yourself grow through it. The jacket knows which one keeps you warm.