Updated - Sinner: Embracing Our Brokenness While Walking in Light
cbr, 2025 #nowplaying - Looking For you. Kirk Franklin
cbr, 2025 #nowplaying - Looking For you. Kirk Franklin
By Mitchell Royel
I’ve spent most of my life running from my shadows. Hiding the cracks, painting over the broken pieces, and presenting a version of myself that looked whole to the world. I thought this was what healing looked like—erasing the evidence that I was ever damaged in the first place.
I was wrong.
The Beauty in Brokenness
We live in a world obsessed with perfection. Social media feeds filled with highlight reels. Spiritual communities that sometimes preach toxic positivity as the only path forward. “Just think good thoughts and good things will come!” they say, as if acknowledging pain is somehow a manifestation of more suffering.
But here’s what I’ve learned in my journey: there is profound power in naming yourself a sinner. Not in the fire-and-brimstone, shame-based way that traditional religion sometimes wields the term. Rather, in the humble acknowledgment that I am beautifully, authentically human—complete with flaws, mistakes, and yes, sins.
When I say “sinner,” I mean someone who has missed the mark of their highest self. Someone who has caused harm, been selfish, acted from fear instead of love. Someone who is, in essence, broken in places.
And that’s all of us.
The Both/And Philosophy
The spiritual revolution I’m proposing isn’t about rejecting new age wisdom. It’s about embracing a “both/and” approach rather than an “either/or” mindset.
I can both acknowledge my darkness AND walk toward the light.
I can both name my brokenness AND affirm my wholeness.
I can both be a sinner AND be worthy of love.
This is where new age positivity becomes truly transformative—not when it bypasses our shadows, but when it illuminates them with compassion.
The Alchemy of Integration
The most powerful energy work I’ve ever done didn’t come from pretending I was already healed. It came from sitting with my wounds and saying, “I see you. You belong here too.”
When we deny our brokenness, we splinter ourselves. We create compartments where certain parts of our experience are welcome and others are exiled. This fragmentation is the opposite of wholeness.
True healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about becoming more fully who you already are—all parts included.
Practical Steps for Embracing the Paradox
Here’s how I’ve learned to dance in this middle space between acknowledging brokenness and embracing light:
Morning acknowledgment: I start each day by placing my hand on my heart and whispering, “I am broken in places, and I am still worthy of love.”
Shadow journaling: When triggered, I write from the perspective of my wounded self without judgment, then respond with the voice of compassion.
Community of truth-tellers: I’ve surrounded myself with people who can hold space for my full humanity—neither condemning my darkness nor forcing premature positivity.
Mindful language: I’ve replaced “I should be better than this” with “This is where I am now, and I’m open to growth.”
Sacred imperfection rituals: I regularly create art that intentionally includes flaws and asymmetry as a reminder that beauty doesn’t require perfection.
The Unexpected Gift
The most surprising discovery in this journey? When I finally stopped running from my brokenness, I found that it was never actually separate from my light. The cracks became the very places where my inner radiance could shine through most powerfully.
My darkest experiences have become my greatest teachers. My wounds have become wisdom. My sins have become the soil from which my deepest compassion has grown.
So I stand before you as Mitchell Royel—sinner, seeker, broken and whole. I am the paradox of human existence, embracing both the shadow and light of my soul’s journey.
And I invite you to do the same.