On a dark night, how many times have we looked up to the sky to see how many stars there are?  Have you noticed the ones that just shine a little brighter than the others?  Have you ever wondered why?  When surrounded by the darkness, we are instinctively drawn to the illumination that softens the sky above us.  People are a lot like stars — they shine even when surrounded by shades of life that seem impossible to imagine.  Ever seen someone shine before?  I have.  And I will never forget it either.  It was an energy so bright that it could have shined in a dark cave.  Do you allow yourself to shine?  Do you let others to see and feel the gift of you?  Sometimes, we cannot help it.  It becomes too difficult to not be who we were born to be.  It creeps out through the cracks of our soul when we get into our “modes” of being who we truly are — when walls are no longer in place and freedom becomes true.  Too many times, we dismiss the moments that we shine.  Our ability to burst and inspire others creates momentum and hope that no one ever could have imagined.  But how many of us have been afraid to do just that?  How many of us have given that responsibility to someone else and they don’t know what to do with it?  We shy away from what we are meant to do.  We try to forget.  I am not very good at accepting compliments but I am getting better.  Over the course of the last few weeks, I have been told what kind of impact I have on others and I never knew it.  I was shining and wasn’t blinded by the glare.  Mostly, I don’t think that what I do or say sticks with anyone.  But every once in a while, I am confronted with the absolute truth that I cannot ignore — that when I shine, people notice.  People notice when you shine, too.  Very few people who know me personally have ever heard me speak at one of my motivational engagements, but for the few that have heard me, they have all told me the same thing.  Essentially, I shine when I speak. It validates what I am doing and it creates something so powerful that I only feel at those moments.  My passion comes through when I say exactly what I feel, sometimes making it up as I go along, but it is always real, reminding you that life is doable.  No greater feeling to me is when I get to watch people do what they love.  What fuels their spirit.  What joy feels like.  What lights them up.  What do you love?  What does your heart say to you when you are alone?  What good is a shining star if no one sees it?  Stars will still shine, even if no one is watching.  True stars cannot help what they have to do…they cannot isolate themselves, trying to forget who they are.  Someone recently told me that I “shined a little brighter” in a matter of a few hours and even though the comment surprised me, the feeling that he saw did not.  I knew I was shining brighter too.  I could feel it. So, the next time you are wondering where those stars are that need to shine bright, don’t look too far…because you may just well be that “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind, and Fire

Michelle A. Homme 2014 ©