I was raised studying the Bible. My family attended various Churches of Christ, where I was taught to do as the good book said, simply and without a lot of fuss.
One of the tenants that I was taught (and that I like to think grew in a fertile mind) is to let your light shine, or not hide your light under a basket.
I have found a few ways to let my light shine over the years.
In my kiting, I am proud of the results of my kitemaking, sharing the results with friends at kite festivals. Also sharing them, and any other kite related nuggets with the public at large when I make it to the beach to fly.
I participated in a community chorus for some years, growing my skills and contributing to that community where I was able.
I try to show up fully for any work that I do, and always endeavor to really hear my customers.
I like to think that my light shines in the ways that I am raising my sons and also in the ways that I help the local scout units keep moving.
If you haven’t noticed, I feel strongly that actions speak louder than words (thanks dad) and that our light shows in the work we bring to the world.
Filters
In Physics class some years ago, I learned that you can make rainbows from white light. That if you place something in front of a light in the right manor, it can break the light into segments.
Looking at the process a little closer, my classmates and I saw that not only can the light be divided, but parts of the light can be blocked. With the right tools one could take a light that was not white (say yellow or blue) and get a red or violet light.
Something over the last couple months has triggered this concept of filters, and had it quietly circling in the back of my head.
Collision
This morning while I was absorbing an episode of Johnathan Field’s Good Life Project featuring Elizabeth Gilbert, something was said that catalyzed a realization for me
Mr. Fields was presenting a quote, that I can’t attribute at this time, that we are the average of the five people that we surround ourselves with. I won’t go into an analysis of the validity of the thought, but the idea made it into the same particle accelerator that the concept of filters had found to run in, and I think I like the results that I got.
I will present that we are indeed beacons, the temperature of our light being determined by our mindset and the level of our own enthusiasm for our current occupation(s). Further, that the people that we surround ourselves with serve the light that we project as filters.
Choose wisely
Assuming that I’m on the right track (and I always do until presented with better evidence), it can be difficult for our greater communities to see through to the true light that we project if we are allowing our light to be blocked by a dark individual, keeping our light from the world. If we let our light go through a mindset that is incongruous with out light, our community is far too likely to see us filtered in a way that incompletely represents us.
Further, if we choose wisely, there is the distinct possibility that bringing ourselves close to those that compliment, and brighten, our light can present us to a larger community, and that we may even be able to find some to bring into our orbit that can focus our light, to make it even more powerful, or let it reach communities that it would not have been able to on our own.