Replenishing the Energy that Light Work Takes Part 1

Hopefully this is the first in a series on reflections on a reality I have found -- that being a presence of Light and Love is depleting; and thus it is important to know how to pick up on the signals of depletion before we "crash and burn;"; and to learn what best replenishes. Another aspect to this reality is that people manipulate and trick others to open to them with Love and Light, and then send out negative energy, try to take control, or inflict much hurt and pain. How can such people be recognized? How do we "clean and clear" ourselves from such interactions?
My first reflection on all this comes from an "Awakening" I had over two decades ago. I realized that to Love was to open; and to open meant removing a lot of my "emotional armor" and "protective barriers." That was really frightening. Waiting until I was sure I was safe in a relationship or situation wasn't ever really going to work because I wouldn't be open enough to allow development. Or worse, since I did not know how to develop, I could find myself reeling into a situation or relationship. I knew I was a deeply loving person, but I kept messing up. So, I took on the first step of learning how to be “open.”
But being open meant that more was impacting me than I preferred. Caring about what was around me -- being sensitive to other's states, overcoming anxieties with hope, replacing negativity with positive energy, etc. I don't know about anyone else, but I found this was draining. Blocking out was a whole lot easier -- just "maintaining the Walls" around self was about it. I began to realize how much negative energy and destructive vibrations filled human creations and communication. This "being open" let in more than I wanted.
So early on I found that I had to deal with "repercussions” of being open and a presence of light and love. There are many ways to deal with such repercussions: prayer, grounding meditations, mantras, etc. Since music had always been an intimate companion, I could “pray play” into being grounded again. Another help was reading wisdom literature. That ageless wisdom always helped me ground again. And journaling helped to, because I often processed what I needed into order to find my “ground” again.
That is enough (plenty) for now.