Shine

“People are like stained glass windows; they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.”
Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Stained glass windows are truly beautiful when the light is shining on them. Their colors come alive. They sparkle and shine. But when there is no light, a stained glass window looks depressing. It looks even worse than a regular window would because we know of its potential. We know it can look much better than this. If only there was a light to shine on it and reveal it for what it was meant to be.

We are like a stained glass window. It is easy for us to sparkle when a light is shining on us. For us, the light that is shining on us, our sunlight, is usually praise and admiration from other people. This is what makes us happy and motivates us to show the beauty of who we are. We feel sometimes that we have to have someone else to show it to in order for it to be real. But if they’re not watching, does the beauty fade?

Whether we still have that beauty when we are by ourselves, or more importantly, when other people don’t approve of us, depends on our character. It depends on whether there is a light turned on inside ourselves. Some people have forgotten what beauty really is. Some resent it and try to destroy it in others because they don’t see it in themselves. These people are completely dependant on the approval of others for them to shine. Their inside light has been turned off. But truly happy and successful people have an inside light. Their true beauty is always visible because they value it enough to shine their own light on it regardless of what anyone else thinks.