Don't Let The World Dim Your Shine!

Ever since I was younger, I have always loved to write. It wasn't the act itself or the product I wound up with, but rather the emotion and energy that I put into the words. The way that I expressed my thoughts felt freeing and empowering. No matter how people reacted to my writing, I felt on top of the world when someone would read it. Until I got further down my journey of education and writing became a harshly judged assignment. Being the only subject in school that is partially graded using a biased opinion of your personal self expression, writing became a modality of disappointment in my life. There I was, blissfully expressing my soul through writing and when I turned it in to receive a grade, the teacher/professor used harsh opinion to express how they personally felt about my writing. This was usually a negative comment. Perhaps it was due to my lack of effort learning grammar or specific advanced terminology. Or maybe because I had issues following the prompt the way that the teacher expected all of us to. Regardless, the way that my writing was judged as I grew up and went through different systems of education, always ended in disappointment in myself, in my ability to express my thoughts, and in my intelligence. A bad grade was a bad grade but a negative, written comment on my expression of thoughts was very discouraging.


The number one thing that those in spirit regret the most is caring what other people thought. It held them back from the freedom of experiencing self-expression AND unconditional love, all at the same time. This experience, this life, it's only going to last as long as it does and then we are back in spirit. What does your soul need to do while you are here? What does it need to experience that you are too afraid or too inhibited to do? Set. Yourself. Free.

So that is exactly what I did. I realized that since I had stopped taking college courses, writing didn't have to be just for an assignment like it previously felt. I was led to write and when my life took a crazy turn, I had no choice but to document my experiences in a journal. This led to the discovery that my writing was actually a beautiful tool of release and not a sack of junk that my school teachers had always led me to believe. I saw the passion and emotion in my writing, I felt the emotional release when I wrote about things that made my soul ache. I discovered the feeling of pride in myself again when people read my writing, except this time they actually liked it! I was stunned at how much growth I had experienced when it came to my writing skills. Or is it possible that I was just never open to believing that I could create beautiful energy through words with all of these adults telling me how sub par my writing skills were? Was I distracted from a natural ability because I chose to listen to the opinions of others? Did I lose years of love for writing just because I told myself "they are right, I am worthless"? Yes I did. But not anymore!

I knew that I had something good going on with the way that I expressed my thoughts through writing but I assumed that these people in my life knew more about myself and my abilities than I did. Looking back now, it seems so ridiculous that I would give others that sort of power in my life but I did and now I am left with the thought, "why?" Because I didn't yet see that knowing my own worth was more important than listening to the opinions of others. I let the world dim my shine, I let them take away something that I enjoy doing and that comes natural to me. For years I kept myself from writing, something that saved my soul when my world came crashing down.

Now, writing is something that I do everyday. I believe my words help heal myself and those who may take something from them. I also believe that whatever it is I put out there through my writing can also inspire each and every mind that skims over my words. I will forever print my thoughts on paper, watching the world change because of it, all the while cursing the mind that let the world dim my shine for so long. This shine is never going away, not at the hands of anyone but my own. I encourage each and every soul that is brought to this post for a reason to NEVER let the world take away who you are. Don't let other people control your life experience, don't give them the power to make you feel as if you shouldn't be yourself. In the end, those who pass us by and give us a glance of nonacceptance serve no purpose in our soul path except to teach us of this very lesson. The lesson of self acceptance and unconditional love, because with these aspects of your soul intact, every single form of self expression is a beautiful kiss on this life, left for the world to see who we really are and why we are here.

Shine bright, all of you beautiful, unique souls and never let the world dim that shine :)