Life shouldn’t be so hard, so complex. It’s short, and as I look back on the passage of time, it saddens me to see how we sometimes struggle just to survive.
This year has been a real turning point for me. I’ve done a lot of thinking and questioning. I’ve started to heal from my wounds, and that process is still ongoing. Looking in the mirror, I’ve realized that I’ve sometimes hurt people who are no longer a part of my life, and that saddens me. However, I can’t go back; I can only continue to strive to become a better version of myself, day after day.
If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be to not waste your time being someone you’re not. Forgive yourself and those who have wronged you. Anger and resentment do not bring anything constructive. For me, it’s been a while since I’ve been angry at people who have hurt me. I always try to see things with perspective. I can feel anger, of course, but it never stays. Anger eats away at hearts and darkens life. It locks up our heart and prevents it from loving.
Yet loving is essential. To love is to love intensely: to love your home, people, your country, etc. Don't be afraid to give your heart where your instinct guides you, whether it's in your work, your place of life or in any relationship.
It's true that giving your heart in today's relationships is often difficult. We all wear masks to adapt, to fit in, or simply to avoid suffering. Sometimes, this even happens unconsciously. We may think we love someone else, but if we haven't healed our own wounds, it's not our hearts that love, but our wounds. Ultimately, it's not sincere.
It is complicated to love sincerely, because since our childhood, we have learned to camouflage ourselves and avoid our emotions. Finding a person who truly loves with their heart is rare; it can even happen only once in a lifetime. I have heard older people say that they have never experienced this.
To love with all your heart is to sincerely care about the other, to want their happiness without expecting anything in return. It is to appreciate the person in their entirety, including their dark sides, and to accept them as they are with patience, ready to support them without waiting.
I must admit that I have never fully experienced this, but I have given my heart to two people in my life: my older sister, who is no longer present, and a man who, for me, remains exceptional. Although when he left, it brought back wounds and I lost control at that moment, it was a revealing experience. Today, I realize that I really cared about him, and even though he chose to no longer be a part of my life, I hope every day that he is happy and doing well. That is what it means to sincerely care about someone, without anger or resentment, only deep esteem. Sincerity of the heart is also this: remembering the good times, despite the past.
I do not want to say more, because it remains personal, but this person I met when I was traveling, deeply marked my life and changed my vision of myself and the world. I learned so much about myself by working on my dark sides.
My last piece of advice would be to never deprive yourself of opening your heart to someone, without expectations. We only have one life, and it goes by quickly. If we were to disappear tomorrow, what do we risk by opening ourselves to a friend or a person we care about? Even if this person does not respond to our openness, it does not matter, because sincerity is rare today. What matters is to be sincere with yourself. Do not waste your time and live each moment as if it were your last.
I do not regret having crossed paths with each person on my path. I thank them for having, even briefly, been part of my life.
