The Brighter the Light the Darker the Shadow

Team LIGHT!

Close your eyes and visualize a cloudless day.  The sun is blasting down upon Mother Earth.  Lizards warm their bodies on the rocks while humans look for shade.  I  am probably more like a lizard than a human in this respect.  This entry actually isn't about the harmful effects of the sun because I'd  be the last person to preach on this topic.  My Eastern European skin tone gets tan no matter how much sunscreen I slather on.  It also probably doesn't help that I spend countless hours each week in or on the water-- the sun's perfect magnifying glass. 

Today's blog is about this concept of contrast.  Contrast and opposition are an inherent part of our human experience.   Many folks have labeled me as an extremist.  I'm either totally in or totally out.  One of my challenges in life is to be more balanced and not so extreme.  However,  when we explore the extremes of any lifestyle or pattern of behavior, a plethora of lessons are learned.  The most significant lesson I've learned through my extreme lifestyle is that I desperately need balance!  Thankfully,  my astrological sign is Libra so this need for balance tends to show up a lot in my world. 

My afternoon today was spent at the State Prison with the female inmates.  We always talk about various topics regarding wellness and "mental hygiene".  Today we talked about addiction.  80% of all inmates are incarcerated for drug related offenses.  It is safe to say that they suffer from the dark world of addiction.  Years of waiting tables and bartending has also exposed me to the lifestyle of the addict. Most of my restaurant co-workers were addicted to alcohol, cigarettes and/or pot. 

I can safety say that there is a very special quality that addicts possess.  I've tried to wrap my mind around why I'm so intrigued by addicts and enjoy them so much.  I think it boils down to this concept of "the brighter the light, the darker the shadow".  This concept has been confirmed by my conversations with the male and female inmates at the prison & jail. 

When I share with them this concept  I always get a lot of head nods and smiles.  I tell them that they burn so bright that they are afraid of their own light.  This fear is so intolerable and such a strong disconnect from their highest truth, that they have to self-medicate.  The self-medicating process does it's best to put out their fire of brilliance and strength but their light will never go away because darkness can never put out the light of a candle.  That's why most of them are still alive.  Light is waiting on the other side of their darkness.  It's a universal law.  Our world is governed by this concept.  This is just one of the reasons why a recovered addict is so amazingly powerful.  Through their recovery, they have joined forces with their Divine brilliance.  Fear no longer dominates their earthly mind.  They have stepped out of the dark and into the light.  Faith in their higher power makes this possible; I believe.  How else can we align ourselves with our Divine light unless we believe that we are worthy of this Divine light?  This belief is made possible by a unity with Divine-- with God, with Higher Power -- call it what you will but it's presence aligns us with the most brilliant light that will burn away the earthly conditions that hold our brilliant spirits captive. 

I love this quote-- it gives me the goose bumps!

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented & fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.Your playing small doesn't serve the world.  There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

Be the light, live the light, shine the light!!!

Amen!!!

Sola Nikola