On Borrowed Darkness

Dearest Reader,

There is a peculiar sort of person who cannot feel brighter without first attempting to dim the room.

They interrupt praise meant for someone else. They diminish achievements they did not accomplish. They search for flaws in anything admired too openly and become suddenly generous with criticism when another person begins to flourish.

One might mistake this for confidence.

It is usually quite the opposite.

Those who are secure in their own light have very little need to interfere with anyone else’s. They understand that admiration is not a limited resource, that another person’s success does not constitute a personal loss, and that attention given elsewhere does not reduce their own significance.

Insecurity, however, is terribly bad at arithmetic.

It imagines there is only so much beauty, talent, opportunity, affection, or recognition to go around. And so, rather than cultivating what is their own, some people become preoccupied with reducing what belongs to others.

This is an exhausting way to live.

There will always be someone more accomplished in one matter, more admired in another, and better suited to rooms in which you were never intended to compete.

A sensible person learns to survive this information.

More importantly, they learn that a light created by extinguishing another is not particularly impressive. It is merely easier to notice because the room has been made darker.

There is far more dignity in becoming brighter without requiring anyone else to become less.

The world has enough room for people who know how to shine beside one another.

It has rather too many who insist upon standing alone in the spotlight.

Yours most sincerely,

Lady Staywell