Be the light

I carefully tore out the full-page image from the magazine and used a ruler and an exacto knife to straighten the edge. With four brass thumb tacks, one in each corner, I pinned the page onto my corkboard. The headline, typed in a classic condensed font, consisted of three little words: Be the light. These are the very words that inspired the birth of this business all those many years ago. To this day, they are the words that keep me going.

To “be the light” is not some egotistical notion that I am here to enlighten others. The phrase serves as a personal reminder that it is my job to inspire myself. I believe it is my work to maintain connection with my source of energy and to flow that energy through my being in a way that it lights me up from within – and to engage with the world from that state of being. Even though I claim inspiration as my own work, I do believe it is essential for all of us to bring our consciousness to light, especially now. Given the shadowy nature of current events, this is easier said than done.

Darkness is having its moment in the sun, speaking both metaphorically and literally. It’s not a coincidence that we just sent astronauts to the dark side of the moon. From outer space, they were beaming back images of a glowing Earth rising over the surface of the desolate moon. It gives me goosebumps to write that. Our planet is rising. It may not feel like it at the moment, but it is. I may be accused of being overly optimistic, however, someone has to believe in our bright future, why not let it be us?

Many of us have already been through a “dark night of the soul” in our own individual awakening processes, and now we are experiencing it as a collective. We are the generations who have chosen to be present for the great awakening of the entity we call “humanity”.

We are the generations who have chosen to be present for the great awakening of the entity we call “humanity”.

From our individual experiences, we have learned that we must allow our own dark corners to be seen so that we may integrate them into our being. All those unloved aspects of ourselves we had rejected need to be given a home within so that we can open to receive our energy and stand as the sovereign beings we are. This transformation is now playing out on a global scale, wreaking havoc on the status quo.

As we continue to hurtle toward a planetary abyss of uncertainty, the accelerating pace of disruption is sending many into a state of anxiety and panic. It’s understandable to want to contract in fear, however, what will actually serve our evolutionary growth is for each of us to find the courage to “be the light”.

How to access the light when overwhelmed with fear

As more new energy floods our planet, our physical bodies are being overwhelmed – our nervous systems overstimulated, our minds overtaxed. From every direction, we are being inundated with rapid change. It’s natural to want it all to “slow down”, however, if we resist what is happening, we create even more struggle. As surfers well know, we have to surrender to the “beat down” of the wave and let it pass over us before we come up for air, otherwise we will drown.

If in survival mode, it can be challenging to experience any state of existence above the surface level of “I’m okay”. It can feel darn near impossible to access the exalted state of inspiration. I get it. In my darkest moments, the weight of life’s circumstances can feel so heavy, it’s like I am fighting for every breath. However, in the midst of suffering, this idea to “be the light” always returns to my awareness and helps to alleviate my despondency.

When I strip away all my extraneous notions and return to the true essence of my work, I realize that my fear is unnecessary. No matter the circumstances outside of me, I always have access to the light within. When I am actually able to embody this truth, I find peace in the knowledge that I am doing the only real work I am here to do. The result is that I effortlessly return to my natural state of inspiration. Of course, this is easier said than done. During my darkest moments, I do have a few tools I find helpful:

• Release the story. Often what sinks me emotionally is a story I keep rehashing in my mind that severs my connection with my source of energy. To return to a state of vitality, I must stop telling the story. Full stop.
• Embrace the paradox. Instead of denying any fear generated by uncertainty, I open to it. I experience it fully, while at the same time allowing the excitement of the unknown to be alive within me.
• Stay present. It’s instinctive to want to avoid pain, however, if we continually seek comfort, we are expending a lot of energy to keep ourselves disassociated from our actual embodied experience. If instead, I meet the discomfort without resistance, I reopen the channel for energy to flow.
• Move the body. One of the simplest ways I find to get my energy flowing is to move my body is some enjoyable way. For myself that looks like activities such as hiking, swimming, or dancing. Each person will have their own version of this.
• Connect to something larger. I am able to enter a more expansive state when I remember that we are all “in this together” – in other words, what is happening is not just happening to me, we are all experiencing a similar unfolding.
• Surrender the outcome. Any attempt to control my circumstances often extinguishes my light. When I allow myself to receive guidance through inspiration, I return to a flow state.
• Focus on what matters. The evolution of humanity matters to me. To look at world events through this lens makes me believe that we are on track.

As I mentioned above, I consider our ability to “be the light” is the inner work to be done on this planet at this time. In regard to our outer work, to “be the light” doesn't have to take on any particular expression. We are free to create work in any way, shape, or form that feels true for us.

I do believe that each of us is being called to create anew in the world. To be in a state of inspiration allows us to tap into new potentials and receive new ideas that serve as the seeds of the new earth we are growing together.