thoughts on stubborn light.

No lengthy preamble this time. Instead, let’s cut to it: Here are a few scattered thoughts on projecting light in the world.

• Thoughts and prayers. With unrest and division giving rise to violence and tragedy, the ‘thoughts and prayers’ we post to our social media have come under criticism as a stand-in to legitimate action. Today, in a discussion on the events of the past week, we wrote our thoughts. Reading mine, I thought, maybe my ‘thoughts and prayers’ are ideas like ‘love is stronger than hatred’ and ‘we can change the world.’ Maybe we need to speak less and do more.
• What I can do. After a week of heavy pondering, I took a note from my own guidebook and searched for my magic amidst my ‘greatest hits.’ That is, I looked back on the moments I felt most certain I had done something positive. My best work – my magic – always emerges in helping people see more in themselves and in giving people a safe space to grow through their discomfort. Maybe I can help heal some of the hatred in people’s hearts.
• Tending a broken heart. The risk of loving is finding that you aren’t loved in return. There is tremendous power, however, in discovering that your broken heart hasn’t broken you.
• Love. I want love to be at the center of my actions, perhaps because it is through love that I find my strength. Perhaps because only love can carry us – any of us – out of the dark.
• Stubbornness. How to be a light in the stubborn darkness: Let light be more stubborn than any onslaught of shadows. Burn brighter, even, when you are tempted to flicker out.