For There Is Always Light
Image by Shashi Chaturvedula
It's been a while since I last wrote one of these Thrive musings. To be honest, with all the shake ups that have happened in the world over the last few months, it's taken me some time to find my footing. Mercifully, with the arrival of Spring and its signs of birth and renewal comes greater resilience.
Got What It Takes to Survive?
In this global age, we are ever more dependent on one another at a time when there are also forces at work that are seriously testing our ability to trust one another. While some might say that we live in a dog-eat-dog capitalist world where only the fittest survive, a closer look at how life on earth evolved from invertebrates to vertebrates to mammals before we humans finally came on the scene suggests that the definition of fit is incomplete if it doesn't include empathy and cooperation. After all, why bother developing the ability to communicate when you could just use brute force to knock out your neighbour?
As a species, we've achieved great things that could only be done because of working with others. Whether it's flying someone to the moon or preparing a meal for your family, all of our activities and our very existence are wholly dependent upon cooperation. It's an exercise in humility to try identifying even one thing that's been made only by you without anyone else's input. All this to say that it is our interconnectedness that gives us life and meaning.
Surrounding Ourselves with Hope
At a time such as this, it can be difficult to remember that nationhood and geopolitical tensions are merely human-constructed narratives that pit "us" against "them". At our core, we are all human. And that means we share the same deep longings for safety, acceptance, love and meaning, no matter the language we speak and regardless of what our birth certificates say about where we were born.
Be a Light
Rather than waiting for someone to miraculously wave a magic wand to make everything better as we mindlessly binge on Netflix, chocolates, never-ending busyness, etc. to distract ourselves, we can make a positive difference by shining our light into the world. It's as simple as small acts of kindness. Like taking the time to be fully present with a young child to play, or cuddle up, or go for a walk in nature. Or perhaps smiling and saying hello to your neighbours. You might be surprised at how sharing a plate of cookies or a bowl of homemade soup with someone can be a transformative experience for the giver and the recipient.
Hate and fear destroy, eventually consuming themselves and those in its proximity. But love builds. It brings hope and lifts our gaze up to brighter skies and horizons.
The latest LUMINA workbook I created for Thrive's piano programme.
Words of Comfort
If you keep your eyes and ears open, you too will find the light that others have to shine. We lightkeepers need to make sure that we feed our own light. Not only will this strengthen our own light but it will help other light-seekers find us. For me, I find the best sources of inspiration when take the time to be still and quiet. It helps to do lots of slow, deep breathing too.
Below are wise words that have brought me comfort in recent months. I hope they do the same for you. Keep shining your light.
"For there is always light. If only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." Amanda Gorman
Goodbye, Winter 2025.
