20.04.25
Sometimes, amid the everyday clamor,
the heart longs for encouragement –
not that superficial applause,
but a genuine, unadulterated sound
that tells us, “Yes, you are here, you are real.”
I remember days
when I tried to extend a hand
with honest words,
with criticism meant in love.
But what happens when this honesty falls on deaf ears?
A typical moment:
“I’m just not in the mood today.”
So simple, so final.
A shield we raise
when the fear of true reflection becomes too great.
Between Affirmation and Authenticity
In the past,
when the world was not yet dominated by countless filtered images and tailored slogans,
encouragement was an unpolished word,
a rough but honest tone –
like the sound of an acoustic guitar in an abandoned chapel,
hitting you even when you’re not ready to receive it.
But today –
today it seems people only want to hear
what confirms their own mirror image.
For true action, true change,
does not come from blind agreement,
but from the courage to stare into the abyss and keep moving forward.
The Paradoxical Search for Encouragement
We all carry within us this small, unyielding desire:
affirmation – as if truth could hide in a simple phrase.
Yet when someone shows you your reflection,
your unseemly edges, the crusted spots
where you’ve learned more than in the shiny mirrors of superficiality –
you respond, “I’m not in the mood today.”
As if honest confrontation were too much,
as if the thought of not merely hearing what one wishes to hear
were a clamor too loud in the quiet night of your security.
Courage to Be Honest – A Space to Grow
I have learned that true encouragement is more than mere agreement.
It is the act of finding genuine strength in vulnerability.
It means having the courage to ask the uncomfortable questions,
to say, “Listen to me – I see you, even if you’re not perfect.”
This encouragement, raw and unrefined,
is like a gentle, persistent rain
that slowly softens the drought of self-deception
and allows us to grow –
to really grow, not just on the surface.
I invite you not to see encouragement as a fleeting echo
sought within a comfortable zone,
but as a process that challenges you,
that urges you to recognize your own shadows and still keep moving forward.
For sometimes, you must also listen to the painto understand the true melody of your soul.
Between the Lines of Silence
In a world where many only want to hear what flatters them,
it is almost revolutionary to allow that momentin which honesty reigns –
where encouragement is not merely a nod of agreement,
but attentive listening, a genuine understanding.
And yes, sometimes that means withdrawing,
saying, “I’m not in the mood today” –
but perhaps, in that retreat,
lies the chance to find yourself
and gather the courage
to listen to the true resonance of unfiltered truth.
Love,
Hannah Lea van Staa
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