My Light Was Stolen
𓂃
What Happened
I was born with something brightNot loud.
Not flashy.
But unmistakable.A clarity. A pulse. A quiet power.Before I could protect it, others saw it.Some reached for it in hunger.Some shamed it.Some copied it.Some dimmed it — not to hurt me, but to feel safer beside me.And slowly, I learned -
Brightness invites danger.
It is safer to dim.
So I adapted.
Softened.
Turned it down.𓂃
I didn’t lose my light.
It was stolen — through attention, envy, control, or need.
──
Feels in the Body
A sense of flatness or dullness insideSudden tiredness around certain peopleFeeling invisible when I try to speak my trueShame after being fully seenTight throat when praisedGrief with no clear sourceRage that no one saw what was takenFeeling like my inner fire flickers but doesn’t rise──
Is Not True
That I imagined my own lightThat others had a right to take itThat protecting others means dimming myselfThat I must be small to be safeThat shining will cost me love
──
What Is True
My light was real.
It is still here — under the silence, under the sorrow.I am not too much.
They were not ready.
And I no longer shape myself for comfort.My light was never meant to be shared through sacrifice.
It was meant to be lived.And now, I take it back — not in anger, but in truth.I do not have to shine for anyone.But I will no longer hide.
──
Words for Repeating
My light was real.
It was taken — not lost.
I take it back now.
I do not dim to belong.
Breath
Inhale
—
I reclaim my lightExhale
—
I do not apologize for shiningInhale
—
I am safe to be seenExhale
—
I return to my original tone
Change Declaration
I name this rage.
Not as shame. Not as sin.
But as truth.This is the fire of all I gave,
to people who took it and used it against me.I was not too much.
I was not dramatic.
I was not dangerous.
I was light — and they feared it.I call back the fire that was turned inward.
I call back the breath I silenced.
I call back the tears I swallowed.
I call back the anger I buried so I could survive.(Pause. Breathe. Feel. Let the body tremble if it needs.)This rage does not destroy me.
It restores me.
I burn no one.
But I will not let anyone feed from me again.I bless the flame.
I rise clean.
I end the story of silence.⸻
Explanation
⸻My Light Was StolenSome souls come in carrying light —
not noise, not performance — but a kind of quiet radiance.It’s not about being happy all the time.
It’s something deeper:
the ability to hold presence, offer clarity, bring stillness, or remind others of what’s true.
This kind of light is not loud.
But others feel it.And some —
without even realizing —
try to take it.⸻How It HappensSometimes the theft is slow and invisible.It begins with admiration that turns to control.
With dependence masked as love.
With people attaching to your clarity because they’ve lost their own.
You are thanked and drained at the same time.Over time, it becomes normal:
• You brighten others while dimming yourself.
• You feel their weight in your body.
• You enter a room and feel pulled on — even in silence.
• You wonder why rest doesn’t restore you anymore.In some relationships — especially in close families or chosen circles —
your light becomes something measured, envied, or controlled.People sense your strength but call it “too much.”
They depend on your calm, your insight, your care —
but resent the part of you that they cannot replicate.They may admire you in private,
but compete with you in public.
They may echo your words,
and then accuse you of pretending.
They take your essence,
then reject the truth of who you are.You begin to feel watched,
mirrored,
and then slowly erased.The light that once gave others hope
becomes something they want to own, reshape, or silence.And worst of all —
you begin to believe that your light must not be safe.So you hide it.
Dim it.
Forget it.
Until one day, you can’t find it either.⸻What This Is NotThis is not weakness.
This is not victimhood.
This is not failure to protect yourself.This is what happens when a soul is born with light
and taught that it must always give it away to be loved.⸻The ShiftThe light never fully leaves.
Even if others tried to take it,
even if it was misused,
even if it was forgotten —
it is still yours.Light is not a performance.
It is your presence returning to itself.The healing is not in fighting for it.
It’s in reclaiming it as already yours.⸻Gentle Next StepsStart small.
Breathe.
Let yourself feel what has been yours all along.Repeat the truths above — slowly.
Let them seep back in, like warmth under the skin.You are not too much.
You are not too late.
Your light was never lost.
Only waiting to be met without being taken.