I’ll tell you, the lack of sunlight has really hit me hard and these days, I find myself driving around town with my sunroof open and heat cranked, hoping for some extra light to filter in. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how sensitive so many of us are to a lack of light? Whether it’s sunlight, or the light generated by kindness, compassion or love, or the light-ness provided by laughter or an uplifting story…many of us find ourselves in need of a light “fill up.”
I remember a conversation I had with a mentor, probably ten years ago now, at a time when I was feeling frustrated, sad, a bit helpless. She asked me a few questions in an effort to clarify what was happening for me and upon collecting my answers, looked at me suddenly, eyes wide, and said, “Oh you dear soul! You need to go create some light!”
At the time, I knew precisely what she meant. It was like a prescription or a recipe for a life-saving concoction and for me, it needed little explanation. It simply resonated, like a piece of myself fell effortlessly into place. I need to create light. When there isn’t enough light, I feel like I’m suffering. So I need to create it.
Because of its profound, yet simple, significance for me, I’ve remembered that exchange – and directive – over the years. I have put it into action. When I feel sad, helpless, stuck, down, dismayed at what I’m seeing (aka: the news) or anxious, I often return to that cure-all: Go create light. Over time, what used to be an exclamation and urgent missive has become a quiet, inspired whisper in my ear. Go create light. That’s all it takes now – just the whisper – and I know what I need to do.
And what exactly does that mean? To go and create light?
Well, for me, it has often meant doing something from a place of kindness or compassion for another, sometimes even anonymously. For several years, I’d leave a vase of daisies at the front desk of a non-profit whose board I served on. I just left them, after hours, on the desk. I didn’t require any credit or thanks. I just needed to create light. Nowadays, my work often fills that need – yes, in one-on-one sessions, but sometimes in the sweet, small conversations I have with clients as we’re wrapping up and saying goodbye. Other times, creating light needs to not be about service to others and instead, at least on the surface, exclusively for myself. I might drive out to the beach and sit alone and watch the water or I might go to lunch with my older son, just he and I, and immerse myself in his 6-year-old world, his conversations, his line of sight.
The bottom line is that, if I hear that clear and decisive whisper to go create light, I respond, as best I can, with a deep breath in, a quieting in my body and an invitation for that whisper to show me what action step to take. Often, when I give in to the quiet and shut down my world for five seconds, I automatically know what I need to do – and doing it helps to clear or soothe what feels dark in my world.
If it resonates with you, I invite you to connect with that from-on-high directive to go create light. For you, it might sound loud and urgent, or it might be quiet, even desperate. See what it sounds like. Be curious. When you hear it, drop down into your being, breathe, and ask, “What is the best way for me to create light right now?” Trust what you see, hear, remember, perceive or notice. Then, do it. Just go do it. Go create light.
As always, I am sending you love and LIGHT!
