You are your only light

Recently, I received some very harsh criticism from someone that I considered has seen me the way I see myself.

I don’t owe anybody any explanation of what I am, and the criticism has left me speechless honestly as it tackled every aspect of my personality.

It wasn’t one of those statements that help you build yourself or fix some parts, or work on some issues, it was a long essay about the ugly side of my coin and it was in details.

I am only human, I have flaws the same way I have my strengths, I understand I am not everybody’s cup of tea, and I know I have good days and bad days, I know I have far too many issues in my personality the same applies to my looks.

But I felt that I wanted to talk about the criticism that I got, not point by point, and not to the person who said it. But of how I had to deal with it.

As much as we focus on our good sides, we are the only ones that truly see all of us, we see the dark spaces, the holes, the ruins, the scared, the empty, the hesitant, the selfish, the anxious, the depressed, the lonely, along with the happy, the confident, the smart, the stable, the friendly, the strong. We are the only ones that know their proportions inside us, how well we manage to deal with them, how good we can control them.

Criticism is not the same as compliments, compliments even when we get them on daily basis never stick around in our head or cause a major impact like criticism does (I am not dismissing the positive impact of compliments, I actually encourage everybody to compliment themselves before others). However for some reason we build our insides fragile just enough for someone to walk in and start destroying our confidence, the moment we allow someone to see our true colors, we open up to them, we strip our souls naked for them to judge, and even though there are beautiful people that tend to see the beauty of what we have built over the few years we got to live and experience life in, there are still people that have too much darkness inside of them, that they fail to focus on your success to keep this empire inside of you going and standing strong, and only see the flaws and little cracks.

But It’s you, you need to realize that all majestic creatures have a weak point, that you are allowed to have lost some battles, you have some walls that are on the edge of falling apart, and some floors that are full of cracks, you are still standing strong, and it’s your land, and no one should plant weeds where you want flowers, cause when it is all dim inside you, you will be your only light.

One of my favorite quotes for Rumi goes like “the wound is where the light enters you” So let the light shine into your soul, and take criticism with all its ugliness, but realize that as Liam Tinker said “I am not what you think I am, you are what you think I am”

Through these two sayings, I was able to accept the ugliness of the words I received and I managed not to let them hurt me or bring me down.

Always remember that you are a beautiful creature with all your flaws, and without them, you wouldn’t be who you are.