{"id":521,"date":"2011-11-15T06:31:17","date_gmt":"2011-11-15T06:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/flightofthesoul\/?p=521"},"modified":"2011-11-26T06:57:11","modified_gmt":"2011-11-26T06:57:11","slug":"be-a-light-unto-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flightofthesoul\/2011\/11\/be-a-light-unto-yourself.html","title":{"rendered":"Be A Light Unto Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When your heart\u00a0is alternately\u00a0breaking and expanding with equal beats in a rhythm of truth you are fully alive, bearing witness to the events of our days.<\/p>\n

Occupy Wallstreet continues to amaze me in what it is bringing to light about the state of America. Listen to the sounds in the wake of this movement. Listen to the conversations that surround this effort. Just Listen.<\/p>\n

On the surface it may be a time of truly devastating tragedies and deep ungrounded\u00a0indulgence bringing up all our worst fears,\u00a0numbing us into either unfocused action or catatonic inaction because what was will not be what is.\u00a0Tempting us to fall asleep. On a deeper level\u00a0we are being called and\u00a0encouraged to move into the adult conversation, to open up wide to the great resourcefulness and\u00a0incredible displays of true inner spirit we are longing to reclaim. Like Mark Antony urging mourners into action over the body of Julius Caesar “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.” It most certainly won’t be the last. But, remember\u00a0these are adult tears. Propelling action. Finding solutions. Telling the truth.<\/p>\n

I don’t know a whole lot but I do know the era of great leadership\u00a0seems to be\u00a0on a hiatus and really when it finally emerges is not wholly\u00a0going to right this ship. I do know personal integrity and honor and love are entering the fray. We are in a time when taking personal responsibility must ignite the way forward. Where we’ve been good we are going to need to be great and where we’ve been unconscious we are going to wake up. The one thing we can be sure of… the person standing in front of you, driving next to you, working down the hall has experienced, or is experiencing\u00a0as much\u00a0trauma as you. Be kind.\u00a0Be a light so others, our children, our neighbors, our communities, here and across the globe, can rise and shine. Everyday. Fully\u00a0nourished and safe from suffering.<\/p>\n

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors and remembers.” <\/em>John F. Kennedy had it right in\u00a0his speech celebrating Robert Frost and the arts.<\/p>\n

Let’s be remembered for our ability to change with grace to transform our present turmoils\u00a0into peace on earth.\u00a0Let’s get really clear, what we do matters. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Living a life of meaning is not a popularity contest.” We have challenges, for sure, things are breaking apart and falling away… However when Winston Churchill on the day of the French capitulation\u00a0said “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if\u00a0the human race lasts for a 1000 years, let them\u00a0say … “This was their finest hour” he offered a space above\u00a0the doubt, beyond the uncertainty and bleakness of circumstance to rise into.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know how an individual changes you know how civilization changes as\u00a0 civilization is the collection of individuals perceptions.\u201d Marianne Williamson<\/p>\n

Start where you can. With you. Make that change within.<\/p>\n

Join me in addressing what needs addressing,\u00a0celebrating moments of magnificence, individuals of purpose, and every expression of\u00a0love that\u00a0you see, encouraging more of that kind of\u00a0behavior. Uplifting every moment that follows. Leading us into a new era.<\/p>\n

Dudes… It is time to say “Let there be light.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(brought to you, not so subtly, as part of an ongoing MELIFESTO)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When your heart\u00a0is alternately\u00a0breaking and expanding with equal beats in a rhythm of truth you are fully alive, bearing witness to the events of our days. Occupy Wallstreet continues to amaze me in what it is bringing to light about the state of America. Listen to the sounds in the wake of this movement. Listen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":451,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,44,4,9],"tags":[14,41,33,12,324,39,38,13,42],"class_list":["post-521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-getting-bare","category-i-am","category-love-you","category-soul-centered","tag-faith","tag-flight-of-the-soul","tag-joy","tag-love","tag-love-land","tag-love-land-tips","tag-love-you-for-life","tag-soul","tag-soul-support"],"yoast_head":"\nBe A Light Unto Yourself - Flight of the Soul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Be A Light Unto Yourself - Flight of the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When your heart\u00a0is alternately\u00a0breaking and expanding with equal beats in a rhythm of truth you are fully alive, bearing witness to the events of our days. 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