Rumi famously said, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” But what if your wounds, so-called imperfections, or cracks are also where your light shines OUT? Where your wisdom, compassion, and learnings pour out onto others, illuminating THEIR path and showing the beauty and strength beaming inside you through your vulnerability? Our culture celebrates perfection, but what if your imperfections are really one of the most beautiful parts of you—where your light shines brightest and furthest?

I share more about this on Episode 61 of the Bright Life Podcast: Your Wound Is Where Your Light Shines Out. And also below, in an excerpt from my book, Your Bright Life: Get Clear on What You Want, Overcome Self-Doubt, and Bring Your Dreams to Life.

On Self-Love and Vulnerability

The night before I announced the launch of my business, I was a wreck. After months of preparation, I had anticipated the launch to feel cool, calm, and collected—like the natural next step after years of dreaming in private.

Instead, I was a mess of ugly tears, the kind where mascara runs down your face and you can’t quite catch your breath between sobs. 

I hadn’t anticipated the vulnerability I would feel announcing my business. I had changed industries, from a career in marketing to wellness coaching, and because I had been studying nutrition and assembling my business in private for months, I imagined my coworkers saying things like, “Who does she think she is? Since when did she start studying nutrition? So she thinks she’s qualified to be someone’s coach now? I’ve seen her eat pizza plenty of times…” (Which is true, haha. I still love me some pizza!)

But I also held deeply personal stories about why I wanted to learn more about nutrition and wellness to begin with, that I hadn’t publicly shared before, like struggling with binge eating for a season in college, and always trying to figure out my own balance with nutrition ever since. I felt like I was opening up my most private stories to the judgment of everyone who followed me online or knew me from my past.

As I scribbled a mix of words, tears, and probably snot across my journal, it hit me. I had always loved the line by Rumi: “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” 

It struck me in a new way this time: Isn’t your wound also where your Light shines out? 

Aren’t your deepest experiences, stories, and so-called wounds, where your light, compassion, wisdom, and truth shine brightest? I pictured the parts of my story that I was scared to share—my wounds—with light pouring out of them all over my body, like beacons of light for others who recognized their wounds by the similar shapes of my own.

I thought of all the times in my own life when I had connected with someone precisely because they shared the lows of their journey. In these moments, I hadn’t felt judgment toward them. I had seen bravery and authenticity. I had felt compassion. I had felt seen.

That night, I did end up announcing the launch of my business—tears, fears, and all. And I received countless messages from people celebrating what I was doing, wanting to be a part of it. 

Did I also receive some judgment? Yes, but mostly through the grapevine, and even though those comments did sting a little, they paled in comparison to the high of finally putting myself out there, doing something I truly cared about.

Ever since that night, I try to remind myself that the parts that we are so scared to expose to others are often the parts where people see themselves in us most. Yes, they leave us vulnerable, but they also leave us connected, beaming with the brightness of our innermost core.

The next time you fear being too vulnerable, too much, too this or that, too you… remember that your wounds are where your Light shines out. They are where I can see you shining brightest. And I bet they are where others can, too. 💛

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P.S. More on this topic: On Self-Love: There Is Still So Much of Yourself to Know and Love and How to Love Yourself Fiercely: Favorite Self-Love Practices.