Note: “Coming Home to Myself” is a collection of vignettes in seven parts. Below you’ll find Part Six: Warm Light. I wrote these articles as a way of coming to terms with major life transitions, with the hope that these words may inspire those of you who are finding your path and defining what it means to be your authentic self.
The work involved in achieving personal growth can be difficult and lonely, but you aren’t alone and you will get through each struggle you face. We are all works in progress, and there wouldn’t be progress without the work.
VI. Warm Light
Michelle was the warmth and the light that I needed. She sensed my wounds, my fear, my caution hampering my curiosity—and she brought a deep understanding and love to all of them. Wherever there was darkness, she cast her warm light.
At first it felt risky. I would think to myself as we began to date: If I tell her this, will she get mad? Or, if I share this thought with her, will she think less of me? Eventually as our relationship deepened, I learned that I could be myself one hundred percent and everything would be okay. In fact, she would love me for it and encourage me to keep being me.
And so my days began to fill with warm light, and I felt myself growing in a new way and direction.
Simultaneously, I dusted off my own lovelight and experienced once again how wonderful it is to shine it on someone and watch them flourish.
“Through the cracks, light creeps into places that were once dark. A crack may seem like a defect, but also a place where beauty is revealed. In the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi, broken pottery is repaired using gold. … Embrace your cracks and look for the loveliness and depth they provide.”
—Emily Silva, Moonlight Gratitude
