A Favorite Word…
"You know what it takes for a star to shine?... a lot of freaking darkness"
The Light Shines Through the Broken Places
Episode 43.
One of my favorite words: LIGHT.
Favorite because of the depth and vastness of the multiple meanings and dimensions of the word Light. Each element draws on a way of being that fulfills a consummate sense of YES.
LIGHT is shine. LIGHT is open. LIGHT is ease. LIGHT is unburdened.
The feelings conjured up by light are more profound and palpable than the mere construct of light as in a ray of sun or an incandescent bulb.
And yet, images of light reveal a visual display that has the power to open all my senses, invoke exhilarating energy, and summons my memory bank…
The light of reflecting sunrays on the ocean; the intensity of the sparkle just as pronounced on the coldest of winter mornings as with the rising heat of a summer’s day; and often most visible after a storm, or right before, as if the sun is engaging more fiercely to ward off or circumvent an impending or looming darkness… as if the light has a being of its own; a life; a nurtured presence…
Or the light of a lightning bug, captured in a glass mason jar by my 8-year- old self on the longest day of the year in my grandparents’ backyard. Leading with a fervent glow, and then flickering, dark for a momentary lapse, then re-engaged for another surge of radiance; this insect of light and magnificence as part of a quintessential childhood. This memory so tangible, of my bare feet bounding through the grass, lunging after another brief zap of light from the summer night insect friends…
Or the light from a freshly started fire in a fireplace- logs stacked, gently teetering, as the newspaper that my dad had crinkled into warped ball-like-piles wilted and frayed, dark red embers leaping about, to wed with the crisp wood and immediately radiate not only warmth in temperature, but in a sense of fully enveloped safety.
LIGHT.
LIGHT as in a bright element-
Illuminating.
Shining.
Glowing.
Radiating.
Energetic.
LIGHT as in weight, or really, the opposite of heavy-
Relief of burden.
Uncluttered.
Dropping heaviness.
Restful.
Buoyant.
LIGHT as in effortless-
Simple.
With ease.
At ease.
Nimble.
Agile.
LIGHT as in unobscured-
Genuine.
Authentic.
Speaking truth.
Open.
Vulnerable.
Vivid.
Real.
LIGHT is a choice; it is a pursuit; it is a viewpoint…
Look to the light.
Be enveloped by the light.
Let the light in.
Cherish the light.
Be the light.
We have all had turmoil and struggle. We have known grief and loss, and joy and connection. We have known strength and have felt the fragility of life itself. And despite what we face, we still have the power to choose how to be in this moment. We have the choice to carry the heavy load of bricks, or to lay it down. We have the choice to trudge through the depths along the muddier road, or to walk the lighter path. We have the choice to see only clouds of darkness, or to set our vision on the light. We have the choice to be burdened by effortful strain, or to simplify and release. We have the choice to retreat in avoidance, or to lighten in love.
LIGHT.
Drop what is heavy.
Be Light.
LIGHT.
Keep shining.
Be the Light.
Love,
Jessica
Do it all with Love. Nothing is promised. But everything is workable.
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