"Let nothing dim the light that shines from within." Maya Angelou
Recently, I was doing my morning routine and as I looked outside I thought "who left those lights on?" I took off outside to unplug the lights only to realize that the lights were not actually on. They were reflecting the light from the beautiful sunrise. I stopped for a moment and enjoyed the gorgeous scene and then I began to think about the many implications of this image.
The lights that I thought were on, were actually not even plugged in! The power of sunlight shining through, caused these unplugged lights to glow with light. The sunrise was able to provide enough light to not only light up the morning, but was able to cause this light strand to shine as well. I have to wonder, what happens if the light we carry were to shine so bright to those around us...could we help them begin to shine?
The focus is also different in this image. Instead of focusing on the fact that the lights were not plugged in and were not doing their job to help light up the morning, the sunlight focused on doing it's job. I think it is very easy for us to point out the mistakes, flaws and failures of others. What if, today instead of focusing on others who are not "shining", we focus on doing our part to light up our world. My hunch tells me that if we truly do this, we will start living in a much brighter place!
What does that look like for us? Is that in the words we use or don't use? Is it the compliments and praise we give those around us? Is it the consistency in our relational interactions? Is it in the genuine, authentic life we lead?
Light is contagious. Your light is contagious. Think of a time in which someone else's light was shinning in a manner that caused your light to shine brighter. Now what will it take for you to do the same for someone else?
-Michael Remole MA, LCPC, NCC, NLC-C, EP
Gateway Family Services