When I was 4 I lived from my inner light without effort: pure expression, little fear, much fun. When I was 11 I lived from that light too, with a lot of laughter, but with a little more self-criticism and self-consciousness (as well as a little more selfishness). When I was 17 I seemed to occasionally lose the key to unlocking that light much of the time. By the time I was 23, I thought that light was supposed to be locked up, that that's just a part of growing up.
As a young adult I was self-conscious, worried, anxious, and stressed. I did well in school but that wasn't enough. I had a supportive and happy family, but that wasn't enough. I made decent money, but that wasn't enough. Everyone else my age seemed to know how to live their lives and be happy, but I was indecisive and lacked confidence. I felt different in a sad way, and I began identifying as a despondent and pensive loner.
I searched in books, gurus, churches, and meditation. And I just couldn't figure it out.
The trick is that there is nothing to figure out. That truth, ease, insight, and joy have always been and will always be within. I guess I just learned to uncage it all. And the way to do that: trust and let go.
I've learned to not only unleash my inner light, but to let it suffuse my body, mind, and actions. You see, this inner light isn't mine, just as your inner light isn't yours. It's there and shining whether we ask it to or not and whether we want it to or not.
This light is the authentic expression of our true self, and all we ever need to do is shift out of its way and let that light shine on.
We try and we try and we try to figure it all out, moving from one problem to the next, one emotion to the next, one hustle to the next. We get overwhelmed and stressed trying to make everything perfect, and we really think that that's just the way life is. It's as if there's an expected momentum to life and if we slow down at all, life might pass us by or we'll lose the game somehow.
But there's nothing to figure out and resolve, and there never was. This is it, and it's beautiful and perfect. It always has been, it always will be.
Living from our inner light is the access to a life of well-being - and all we ever really want is to feel fully alive and to experience well-being.
So many of us, however, feel deeply that we're not worthy of a life of well-being and the experience of being fully alive. If this is true for you, then remember this: the well-being of others begins with our own well-being.
...just as the well-being of our students begins with the well-being of our teachers and parents.
Thanks so much for reading. Shine on. ❤️