This morning, I started thinking about what most people were doing in this beautiful, almost-spring day and I recall watching the sun crest over the roofs of the houses in my neighborhood and instantly I was drawn to it.  Like I am every morning run.  It calls to me and for some reason I think it only says my name.  But I know that is not true.

But like many of you, I am drawn to the light.

What makes the light so alluring?  Why does it matter?  Where does it come from?

And my biggest question…why doesn’t everyone see it?

Last week, I had a conversation with someone who could have been with anyone, but what mattered is not who I was with, but what was shared.  And she confirmed everything I know to be true.  Throughout our conversation, we agreed on how nice it is to talk with someone else that “gets it.” Someone that you don’t have to convince or explain what is going on because they know. Have you ever met those kinds of people?  Me, too.  The ones that you don’t have to tell everyone that the light exists — the ones that know, know.  The ones that don’t, can’t see it yet.  That doesn’t mean that they never will.  It just means they aren’t ready yet.  Maybe they have to do something first or they need to believe in something.

And just like you, I am drawn to people who shine.  The ones who shine without question or compromise.  The ones who cannot help but make the dark sky brighter because of their presence.  The ones who smile, just as big as can be, because they don’t know how not to. The people who give to give, but never consider it a sacrifice.  The ones who are not enslaved by money, but appreciate what happiness is and what it costs. The ones who are genuine because they don’t want to put in the work and effort to be anything but real.

But it is easier to believe that about someone else than it is to believe it about ourselves.

We search for someone else to light our fire…to help us see what we are already know.  We KNOW what we were born to do and we feel our light illuminate when we let our soul live.  When we follow our hearts and embrace the opportunities granted to us, by chance, circumstance, or some other reason that cannot be explained.

How often do we see ourselves as that light?

Probably not very often. I know I didn’t.  I still have a hard time accepting that role.  Not because I don’t want it.  But because I am hesitant to think that a role so big could be mine.  Whenever we are doing what we are born to do and light up, we give others permission to do the same.  And when one small lights shines, surrounded by darkness, it still shines.  It doesn’t wait for others to light the way or to show them how.  It does what only it knows how to do.  It doesn’t listen to the dark and it always prevails because of its purpose.  The very reason it exists.  It cannot be what it is not.

We must look for that beacon — the one that calls only our name, but it is not where we think we must go.  It is not captured in the accomplishment or failure we experience as we travel through life.  No, it is always with us.  It can only be found at our very core — the only place where peace and truth come together.

If you sit silently, breathing every so softly, what do you hear?  You will hear your heart…where your soul lives and where the light comes from.  You see, it is not something that someone else must give to you…it is within you.  YOU are that beacon.  The one that shine brighter than anything else ever could.  You are what gives us hope, reminds us to give more to others, and to listen to our purpose.

This is our responsibility.  It is something that cannot be ignored or passed on to someone else.  We own this. Do not be afraid of lighting the way for others — lighting the way isn’t about you at all.  It is about allowing others to find their way…just because you show them how.

And on those days when you forget, read the phrase above.  Memorize it.  Believe in its words.  We are more than we think we are.  We each have an assignment that was predestined long before we realize it.  But it is there.  Search for it.  But you will always find it within your soul.  YOU are that beacon.

– Michelle A. Homme 2015 ©