The Gift of the Wound

For most of my life, I carried a secret — tucked away in the shadows where I thought no one could see. It whispered, “Something is terribly wrong with me.” I wore masks, twisted myself into shapes I hoped would be accepted, and worked twice as hard just to belong.

I was raised in a world where conformity meant survival. To be different was dangerous. And so I learned to hide. I hid my sensitivity, my honesty, my uncanny way of seeing what others didn’t want to see. I hid the very parts of me that made me who I am.

But hiding always comes at a cost. No matter how hard I tried, I burned out. I said the “wrong” thing. I asked for too much. I felt too deeply. People drifted away, and each loss cut like proof that my secret was true: something really was wrong with me.

“The wound is where the light enters you.” — Rumi

It took me years — and more than one dark night of the soul — to see that my wound was not proof of my brokenness. It was the opening. The very crack through which my true gifts began to shine.

What I once saw as shame — my sensitivity, my honesty, my ability to read the hidden patterns of people and places — has become the ground of my calling. These weren’t flaws. They were seeds. They only needed the soil of acceptance to grow.

The truth is this: your wound is your gift.

Through pain, I learned to see potential in others — to glimpse the light they can’t yet see in themselves. Through rejection, I learned the courage of boundaries and the power of letting go with love. Through shame, I found compassion that runs deeper than judgment.

And through it all, I discovered that the part of me I once thought was “too much” was never wrong. It was sacred.

We live in a world that tells us to polish our edges and hide our shadows. But the truth is, our shadows are where the light begins. Healing isn’t about erasing what hurts — it’s about allowing those places to transform into wisdom, compassion, and power.

This is the work I do now. Not because I mastered my wounds, but because I befriended them. I learned to see them not as chains, but as invitations.

Your wound is your gift. My wound became my gift. And together, our healing becomes the gift we offer the world.

If this reflection stirred something in you, I invite you to step into AnuBel's world -- a place where your imagination, your stories, and even your shadows are welcomed.

Begin with a Play Date, receive the free 7 Dream Seeds, or simply wander this site to see what calls to you. However you arrive, you are welcome here -- just as you are.

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