From an early age, I was the person to whom strangers would gravitate, seeking guidance through their complex life challenges and deepest shadows. This natural inclination for deep connection and empathy was a constant through my life, leading to profound conversations with people I had just met, allowing me to gather insights into the human condition. It always baffled my mother, always trying to figure out why.Turns out, I'm an HSP—Highly Sensitive Person. It’s like having an antenna tuned to pick up everything: every flicker of light, each shift in tone, the unspoken agony and joy in people’s eyes. I processed the world in HD, every detail amplified, every emotion intensified. It’s a gift and a curse, living with an open nerve in a world that often feels like sandpaper.I loved life fiercely, yet always felt at odds with it, sensing a deep fracture within us all. Trying to escape the muck of life was like walking with sticky shoes; the mess just follows. So, I chose to dive into the darkness headfirst, to understand us, to understand me. It was a harrowing descent, a journey through night’s darkest corners, seeking a glimmer of truth. It was more than loneliness—it was a pilgrimage to the core of existence. And then, in the void, I found it: the stark, blazing truth. The mantra that emerged from the depths was simple yet revolutionary: “When in darkness, light a match.” That was my awakening, the moment everything shifted. I learned how to fall in love with the moon. Our shadows hold our deepest lessons. It was there that the awakening took place. The shadows are how we learn, how we evolve. Even in darkness, we are creatures of the heart. Read more about this authorRead less about this author