What if your deepest wounds are actually your most profound teachers?
I used to believe liberation was something that happened to me—a magical moment of breakthrough, a sudden enlightenment that would wash away my pain. Instead, I found myself trapped in a decade-long dance with my own shadows, battling addictions, facing down the darkest parts of myself that I'd spent years trying to hide.
Wounds of Wisdom
In the caverns of my broken heart,
Where shadows dance and pain takes part,
I once believed I needed to hide,
From the truth that lived deep inside.
Each scar, a map of journeys taken,
Each tear, a language softly spoken,
Not of defeat, but of surrender sweet,
Where broken becomes beautifully complete.
Liberation whispers from within,
Where love begins where judgment ends,
No longer fighting, no longer afraid,
I am the medicine I once delayed.
My wounds are not my weakness, but my light,
Transforming darkness into insight bright,
In radical embrace, I finally see:
The healing I sought was always me.
The Illusion of External Salvation
For years, I sought healing everywhere but inside myself. I chased substances, status, approval—each new fix promising to fill the void I felt deep in my core. I was addicted to being somebody, to proving my worth, to running from the parts of myself I deemed unlovable.
My seven-year dark night of the soul wasn't a punishment. It was an invitation.
The Four Prisons We Build
We construct our own cages through four primary attachments:
Physical Imprisonment: Relying on external substances to feel powerful, to numb our pain, to maintain a sense of control.
Mental Imprisonment: Seeking constant external validation, building personas that shield us from our true vulnerability. We become addicted to being "somebody" instead of embracing our raw, unfiltered essence.
Relational Imprisonment: Judging ourselves through the lens of others' love, taking rejection personally, never realizing that our external experiences are simply mirrors of our internal landscape.
Spiritual Imprisonment: Outsourcing our divinity, believing that healing comes from outside ourselves rather than recognizing the infinite power within.
The Radical Act of Self-Responsibility
Liberation begins the moment you stop waiting to be saved and start taking radical ownership of your experience.
This isn't about perfection. It's about presence. It's about extracting the medicine from your story—not to glorify your pain, but to understand the profound wisdom hidden within your wounds.
Every addiction, every pattern of self-sabotage is a whisper from your soul. A call to come home to yourself.
The Medicine Is in the Wound
Your shadows are not something to be conquered, but to be loved. Those parts of you that you've condemned, rejected, hidden away—they are waiting to be embraced. They hold the keys to your most profound transformation.
True healing is not about becoming something else. It's about becoming fully, unapologetically yourself.
A Promise Rewritten
My journey used to be, "God, save me, and I will spread your word."
Now, it's: "In spreading love, in revealing truth, I save myself."
We are not broken. We are not victims. We are divine creators, constantly generating and recreating our experiences. Made in the image of the infinite, with the same creative power that moves through the universe.
Liberation is not a destination. It's a moment-to-moment choice to love what is.
Breathe. Feel. Remember.
You are the medicine you've been searching for.
Love, Oriya
My favourite word in your genuine post: UNAPOLOGETICALLY.
I lOVE the feeling of becoming fully, unapologetically yourself.
Although it’s not that easy to achieve and maintain. 😉😁
Thanks for the reminder! 🙏🏻😊
the poem is transformative, to read it is to facilitate the healing