Shine your light

You are a star. And you are here to shine.

Life can dim your light when you let it. But you decide - you always decide.

Today, we’re going to decide to push our dimmer switch up - slowly, gently - and begin to brighten the light within us. The light that radiates from our being. And energizes us with potential and possibility.

It’s time to understand our energy. But “energy” can often make us think of movement. Effort. Or the lack of those things.

“I have NO energy,” she mutters under her breath as she shuffles to the sofa.

“That brisk walk gave me So much energy!” she exclaims as she removes her sneaks.

Energy is much more than that which enables physical activity. It’s time to understand energy beyond endorphins. It’s time to demystify the mysticism. And it’s time to receive the empowerment of this energizing knowledge.

To make this practical for our sweet minds, let’s shift our viewpoint from possessing energy to possessing light. That’s a bit more tangible and visual. See a beautiful, gorgeous store of light within you. A light that enables your true self to shine, your talents to glow, and your being to radiate for the people + world around you. Glow, Baby!

And let’s visualize that glowing light. Picture your light. Make it yours. Choose your color. Choose where you see it in your body. Feel it. Mine is gold, centered at my heart, and when it’s really beaming it covers my whole being and expands beyond my physical self. Like when you squint and look at a Christmas tree and can only see light. Choose yours.

And now let’s become aware of a simple, everyday interplay:

When we engage in activities and interactions that fuel us (and give us energy), the brightness of our light turns up. But when we participate in functions and interactions that deplete us (and reduce our energy), our brightness dulls. Our light dims.

Have you ever wondered how you can sit in 8 straight hours of meetings and feel physically exhausted at the end of your day? After engaging in practically no movement whatsoever? How is that a tiring day? And most likely - a tiring day after day after day (after day).

Or how after 2 hours of Netflix-watching and Facebook-scrolling you can stand up from the couch more tired than when you first reclined? Shouldn’t that have been relaxing? Isn’t relaxation supposed to facilitate rest and recharge? Why are we not recharged?

Everything is an interaction.

Having a conversation with your mama… making a meal… driving your car… checking your email… hugging your babe… drinking a cup of coffee… lighting a candle… saying a prayer… being interrupted from a task… going to a doctor’s appointment… watching a show… petting your dog… tending your garden… participating in a work call at 4 p.m. on a Friday.

Perhaps when reading those interaction types you felt the brightness of your light adjusting up or down a bit. I like to describe the interactions that dim our light as “tricky” and those that brighten our light as “lovely.”

In each and every interaction, there is an exchange of energy. Of light. And typically, this exchange happens completely unconsciously.

We fill our watering can on a Saturday morning and saunter from room to room watering our plants… wondering why we begin to breathe deeper and easier. We close our laptop, wrap on a scarf, and take a brief stroll around the block between meetings… wondering why our time after the walk was so much more focused and productive than the hours before. We make a cup of tea, snuggle onto the coach, and watch a show with our spouse (purposefully leaving our phone in the other room)… and wonder which element of that choice helped us arrive at a truly relaxed state.

OR… We pick up our phone once we hear it buzz, read the notification, and wonder why we immediately feel tight. We conclude an emotionally-charged conversation and wonder why we feel depleted. We tuck our kiddo in for a heavily-protested nap and wonder why we feel drained.

We are busy, bustling, scheduled, stressed, harried, and hustling - day after day (after day) - and we wonder why our energy feels depleted. Why our light looks dim. Or perhaps out altogether.

Here is why: in these tricky interactions, we’re literally giving our energy away. We’re allowing our light to be dimmed by releasing the glittering gold of our light into the interaction. We’re subconsciously opening the doors and letting it drift away.

And to make matters trickier, we’re not engaging in sufficient light-brightening interactions. If you view yourself as giving your light to the tricky interactions, you can view yourself as getting light from the lovely ones. We receive from the lovely ones. We are brightened, fueled, and refilled.

Living on purpose enables us to shine our light.

True integration always involves intention. Entering any and every interaction on purpose rather than on auto-pilot. And ultimately, we begin to transition interaction after interaction from tricky to lovely.

And we want to transition to lovely. Because tricky can feel sticky. It literally can feel like we’re stuck in it. Stuck in it often. Maybe even most of the time.

It’s time to get practical. My prayer for our time together, as we continue to open our eyes and set our sights to living on purpose, is that we’ll each shine more brightly. More truly. And more intentionally than ever before.

We’ll start with the 1-2-3 approach out of the sticky trickiness and into the light.

1.Begin to notice

That’s it. Just notice. If you’re a journaler, write about it. If you’re an analyzer, pop them into a spreadsheet. If you’re visual, jot them down on post-it notes and stick them around your room. Observe what increases your light and what decreases it. Maybe you designate light-brightening interactions with an up arrow and light-dimming interactions with a down arrow. Make it yours. Notice and keep tabs.

When you pop into Facebook, lit up or dimmed? When you ground in meditation, lit up or dimmed? When you write a thank you card, lit up or dimmed? When you engage in an entire conversation without checking your phone, lit up or dimmed?

2.Welcome more light-brightening interactions

As you notice the interactions that amplify your light, welcome more in. Actively choose to participate in more of them. Maybe one a day. No need to amp up the to-do list in the process! As you begin to become more aware of the activities and interactions that light you up, treat yourself to more.

If the idea of “more” of anything is overwhelming, by setting the intention to observe more instances of brightening, they will naturally unfold in your day. You can begin your day with a simple affirmation like, “I notice the light around me and within in.” And throughout your day, return to it.

A delightful aspect of an intention is that you can leverage it in advance of a traditionally, tricky interaction. Before entering the meeting that makes your anxious, or making the phone call you’ve been avoiding, or initiating your toddler’s bedtime routine, return to your intention: “I notice the light around me and within me.” And then notice. Observe how the interactions unfold. Perhaps the same at first or perhaps a bit brighter.

3.Be kind

There will still be some dulling interactions in your days. If you desire for this transition to be sustainable, it will likely be gradual and subtle. Two steps forward and one step back. And as you falter, be kind. Always kind. You are opening your awareness and expanding your consciousness. These are not trivial actions - they are bold and brave and brilliant. And they can require some time.

Be kind.

You may find yourself lingering in step 1 for a bit, and that’s lovely. Notice, notice, and notice again. Every time you notice, you are growing your consciousness. And most importantly, you are shining. Every single time you notice what brightens your light and what dims it, you are glowing more fully in your authentic awareness. And you are practicing presence. Simply noticing is one of the most present things you can do.

Living on purpose means reminding yourself everyday - maybe multiple times a day - that you get to decide. You choose. This is your life. This is your light. No one can shine it except for you. No one can brighten it except for you. And no one can allow it to be dimmed except for you.

Often we are allowing our light to dull without realizing it. Experiencing interaction upon interaction that dims our shine and directing the blame externally. I’ve been there, friend.

Life can only dim our light when we let it. And once we know that, we know. Together, loves, we are opening our awareness. And we are accepting our power. Our power to protect out light. And our power shine our light.

Ready to transition from busy to grateful? From stressed to content? From hustling to joyful? You decide. You always do.

How about for today, you decide to shine, friend? Right here, right now ♥️