The season of the light is here. At the darkest time of the year, I think of the quote, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” It’s been a tumultuous year in the world. Maybe you are experiencing personal challenges too, or perhaps things are going well for you right now. Whatever is happening, we have a choice to turn our minds to the dark view or find and follow what lights us up.
When we light our own candle, we can see better. We feel better too. I have a new affirmation that is fast becoming a belief. “Everything always works out well for me.” Recently, my car broke down in San Francisco. My check engine light was on and an ominous “engine power reduced!” message appeared on my dashboard. I switched off the engine, turned it on again. The car wouldn’t start.
I stared ahead frozen with disbelief and dread. What did this mean? Thousands of dollars in repairs?
I breathed deeply, calmed myself and reached for my phone to call AAA emergency services. “The tow truck will be 60 minutes,” I was told. “Everything always works out well for me,” I murmured weakly after I ended the call. I visualized feeling relief and hearing good news. A huge tow truck suddenly appeared before me in less than five minutes. I was so amazed I thought it must be for someone else but it was for me.
Each year rolls into a whirlwind of light, dark, joy (for some) and overwhelm in the final month of December. Practice self care during the holidays and remember to love yourself. It’s so easy to get blown away from your wise center by the surge of activity pulling you in a myriad of directions at this time of year.
It takes time to know who you truly are, especially if you want to lift the veils of superficial perception to peer below into the depths of your soul. Such a concept is daunting for some, and not such an obvious thing to do for many, as it’s easy to get swept up by the overall impression we have built up of ourselves over the years. Yet our own impressions of ourselves are often flawed by self-judgment and distorted memories.
Do you sometimes feel lost inside your own life? Almost like being swept away by a river’s current, beyond your control? Maybe you’re feeling the challenges of change and transition, where life doesn’t seem the same anymore. You wonder what happened to the magic in life.
