Make of yourself a light

“Make of yourself a light” are said to be the last words of Buddha.

But what does he mean by light? I would imagine that he was pointing to the fact that the only thing we are supposed to do in this life is to be who we are by focusing our energy on things we prefer, instead of fighting against things we don’t prefer. “Make of yourself a light” might also suggest to be more of what we wish to see in the world…

I invited you to join me in making 2014 the year we enjoy by being fully present; the last words of Buddha in relation to presence resonate in me a lot. The essential reason I find them so inspiring is that they shift my focus from the outside to what’s going on inside. From waiting for things to change – to changing myself instead.

I often smile at people even if I’m the only one doing it; not because I want to be so different, but because I actually enjoy smiling. I say hello to my neighbours even if they often don’t greet me back. I do that simply because that is my preferred attitude. Following my preference instead of fighting against something… Making a light of myself instead of trying to be someone else; or to behave as others might expect of me… In my opinion, it means being bold; not because I want to impress anyone but instead to share my own view or unique idea which the world around me might actually benefit from. “Make of yourself a light” is me doing the best I can using all my abilities, cultivating my talents, tracking my passions and thus contributing in the way only I can. And I confess that this “make of yourself a light” philosophy has also been one of the reasons for my career in leadership – I believed that leading could inspire people and so instead of fighting what I didn’t like I decided to lead the way I prefered ;)

A few months ago I took a Gallup assessment called the Strength finder. The profile I received described my top strengths and suggested jobs where such combination of strengths might best serve others (guess what; writing was on that list too :)
Out of 34 strengths Gallup assesses the chance that anyone has the same combination and order is 1:34 million! And that's just a simple online assessment. Now, do you need any more confirmation about the extend of your own uniqueness?! There is nobody like you and therefore nobody can fulfill this life’s unique mission for you. Making of myself a light I interpret as: being myself and sharing that which is unique to me with others.

I also try to let others be who they prefer to be. Instead of blaming liers and egoists I can choose to be authentic and compassionate. As challenging as it sometimes is I try to release my resistance. I realized that everytime I resist someone’s ideas or behavior it is showing me a lot about myself. What within me is being reflected in others? Why are this person’s words or actions so uncomfortable for me? And what is it I am really resisting?

I believe that just like waves in the ocean we are all connected on a deeper level; yet each individual (wave) is unique and as such is mostly affecting the surrounding waves. By being fully present and spreading light we affect our surroundings and that’s how we influence the whole ocean. Our actions and energy vibrations have an effect on others. And this is my call to action: Instead of blaming, complaining or fighting darkness, why don’t we try to spread light for a moment! Just for today our joy might be the most natural indicator that we are following a mission that represents what we prefer and who we truly are. Too many of us are not making a light of ourselves because we are spending our precious energy fighting darkness.

Shifting from darkness and focusing on light may be a big shift. It means creating new thoughts, new emotions and new responses every day according to what we truly prefer. What we think, say and do matters; our energy flows where our attention goes. Are we focusing our energy on things we want to expand or things we don’t like?

Instead of comparing myself to others I should rather focus to live the best I can. By changing my own definitions I can best support the others – by making of myself a light rather than reinforcing their current negative focus. Any shift needs to happen in me first before I can experience it outside of me as well. I need to tune myself inside; that is the best place to start.

In the comments below tell me how often do you follow your inner light (intuition, passions, joy, you name it). Remember – people who shine from within don’t need a spotlight so…

Make of yourself a light!