Rise & Shine: Finding Your Light
I have those days where seemingly out of nowhere I feel blah. Or one little thing can turn a perfectly fine day to a grey one. The blah can cause all kinds of problems if I don’t grab hold of it and put it in it’s place.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s okay to have a bad day, feel blue or just off. But if you are like me, the blah can get the best of you. Causing you see to everything in a bad light. Or no light—if you let the blah run wild for too long things can get dark.
When I was little, my mom would burst into my room in the morning singing, “Rise & shine and give God the glory, glory!” I also recall Sunday School days as a child singing, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” Both songs assume we have a light. And one that is worth shining to the world. But where does that light go as we get older and it starts to feel like life is something that is happening to you rather than with you? If you don’t nurture it, the light fades. It all but goes dark. I choose to believe the light is always there. But we allow our bad experiences to cover it up. Maybe as a way to try and protect it. But really we are just smothering it and choking it out.
I remind myself of all the things I have overcome (and you have to…) and my light starts to gain the courage to peek out from its shadow and show itself again.
What do we do to shine our light again? What has worked for me is making an effort (and admittedly sometimes it is a real effort) to see the good around me—a clear-blue sky, the first cup of coffee after waking up in the morning, cozy socks and thick blankets, flowers & trees. Reading something inspirational—dedicating the first minutes of the morning to a favorite devotional or poem. Meditation and prayer. Joining a support group or counseling when needed. Reminding myself that no matter how blah or even dark things may seem, eventually everything will be okay. Things always turn around, nothing ever stays the same. Things may not change as quickly as I want them to, but I remind myself of all the things I have overcome (and you have to; we all have our trials and traumas and tribulations) and my light starts to gain the courage to peek out from its shadow and show itself again.
If you are facing darkness, my hope and prayer is that you soon find a spark of hope and your light gains the courage to peek around its shadow and show itself to the world again. We can do hard things and when our light grows, we can share it with someone else who is struggling.
You can join me on YouTube for a Rise & Shine yoga flow.
From my light to yours.
♡,
Kristen
