Strands of white Christmas lights sit in tangled bunches on the floor in the living room. Each one a separate glowing mess.
“Well, at least they all work!”
I know eventually they had to get untangled and connect to one another to light the tree and garland all around the house. And I knew I had to facilitate the untangling. And even though there was a chaotic mess in front of me, I’ve seen this before. I know that this mess will turn into something that warms my heart.
As I sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by tangled lights, my mind started to drift to solving problems I was having at work. All of a sudden I started thinking…
Christmas lights are like individuals.
Our lives are like strands of Christmas lights. Each light represents a moment in our lives – be it an inspirational moment, a memory, a decision point. Sure, some of those bulbs are burnt out. And we may need to find out why they are out. Maybe we chose to forget that event or maybe we’ve just neglected to focus on things that inspire us and instead have focused on the darkness.
Sometimes we can fix those broken bulbs, sometimes not. But often the strand still works even with a few bulbs out. So we keep moving forward, maybe adding on strands to our lives..
We are made to connect to one another.
Or better yet, connecting our strands to others. We are made to be connected to one another. We can do so much more connected than alone. Think of the size of the tree we can light if we all connect our strands together!
But before we can connect, we need power. The power to shine. The power to bring out our unique light – our brilliance.. We are meant to shine but sometimes we put ourselves in boxes and don’t ever find the power to shine.
Then it came to me. Right there on the box is a clue as to what we could become if only we stepped out of the box and searched for our own source of power. If we got the help we needed to get our brilliance out into the world and shine.
Each strand unique.
Sometimes we don’t know what our light will be until we have the power. Some of us have white lights, some red, blue, yellow, orange, pink, so many colors! There are steady lights and blinking lights and others that like to dance and sing! Some are used to light other things like trees and those magic ornaments that need to be lit from the inside. While others are out on their own and just shine – maybe to shine the way for others to see.
No matter what, when we see these strands of lights go on, there is something that turns on inside of us. You know the feeling. You feel a little warmth inside.
I love that my work is all about helping individuals find their power and connecting to others so they can change the world. Imagine if we each had a strand of lights and connected them to one another. I wonder what the world would look like if it was circled again and again with these twinkling lights? Would it bring a little warmth inside of each person?
When you drive down the street over this holiday season, think about how each strand (individual) is unique and what it takes to power (inspire) them to shine their light.
My wish is that you appreciate the lights of your own life and that you connect yours to others. Together we can all bring inspiration to one another and create a world where everyone becomes their best and most beautiful self and shares their brilliance.
Be happy,
Linda
p.s. I keep a strand of lights in my office all year round to inspire me and to help me inspire others to create, connect, and share their brilliant light with the world.