When I was a teenager I was deeply troubled.
There were happenings from the home front that I didn’t get to share with other people.
There were times I pretended things were different and created a life of lies so that people wouldn’t know I was hurting.
I was good at hiding.
And at nights I was even better at dissociating.
And then I left for University and my world opened up.
For the first time, I was me without the stories I made up for myself.
I got introduced to psychology and that got me fascinated.
In understanding the mind. Our behaviors. Our thought processes.
And even at that time at the age of 16, I already knew, that for me to be great at helping others, I had to be even better in helping myself.
So that started this journey of self-development. Of understanding myself and getting clarity on what drives me, what inspires me, what would make me love myself more.
30 years later, I am still in this path. A journey of discovering and rediscovering life.
One of the precious words of wisdom that I got throughout those periods came from one of my dearest friends, Luch. She has faced so many hardships and has always been an inspiration on how she bounces back to life. I remember one time rushing to her place. Wanting to seek refuge from what I was experiencing and what she shared I deeply treasured.
“The sun always rises. No matter what. It keeps on shining even when we do not see it clearly with the clouds. It is there.”
And those words got me through tough times. Whenever I knew that things are going in directions that I didn’t plan for, I remind myself that the sun will rise the next day.
Whenever I am faced with challenges that seem so hard to carry on my own, I remind myself, “the sun always shines the next day”.
There is always another day to try things differently.
To do things anew.
To choose differently.
To realign myself so I can be congruent with how I would like to show up in my life and for those I care for.
And the days may seem bleak and unsettling.
Our bodies tired and restless.
I find solace in knowing, the sun will keep on shining.
Even when it’s hidden by the grey clouds, it’s there.
