Light up your own life in 2018

The Experiment: Day 91 ~ Learning To Light Up Your Own Life At The Winter Solstice…

“Now, near the Winter Solstice, it is good to light candles. All the nice meanings of bringing light to the world can be beautiful. But perhaps we are concentrating on lighting the world because we don’t know how to light up our own lives.”
Ralph Levy

Today has been the shortest day and tonight is the longest night of the year. It is the Winter Solstice and I don’t think I have ever spent it in a more meaningful way. I spent 2 1/2 hours this afternoon in the most beautiful circle of women led by our dear Amanda Grace in Sligo, Ireland. There were 15 women from around the world and we came together to have a beautiful time of setting our intentions for the coming year. We shared our stories, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our sorrows and our joys, and so much more. We lit our candles making a circle around the world. It was one of the most exquisite gatherings I have ever been a part of.

And then this evening I found the above quote by Ralph Levy and his words caught me… “we don’t know how to light up our own lives.” And I caught my breath and just stared at those words. I thought of the things I’d just shared this afternoon about what my intentions and dreams are for 2018, and yes, I meant what I said, but on reading those words it struck me that maybe what we all should put as our first priority in 2018 is learning how to light up our own lives. You know that one lit candle can light a thousand. What if we concentrated on lighting up our own lives in 2018 so that we can light the other “candles” around us that have lost their glow. What if, in learning how to shine bright, we can light the way for another, even one other person? Could there possibly be a more beautiful thing that we could do? If you lit up your own life how many other’s candles could you light from your own in the coming year? It makes me joyous just to think about it.

And I want to share with you a beautiful site that I have been visiting for almost 20 years. People come from all over the world to “Light a candle.” It stays lit for 2 days, you can light one with special prayers at any time. I used to always keep it in the sidebar of my blog and I plan to put it there again. On a night when you feel lost and alone to go light a candle in a community of millions of people around the world lighting candles is a powerful thing. I can’t tell you how much peace this site has brought me. Click on the candles below to go to the site…

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
Buddha

May the darkest night upon us now lead us to a world of light in the coming year. May all beings be blessed.

With gentleness and love…