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In A World Of Light And Darkness, How Do You Stay In The Light?

Wise Women Chronicles

I Stay in the Light:

By refusing to accept that our world is polarized. That there is only Darkness or Light.

Most of my life I have worn rose colored glasses and viewed the world through a lens of Love and Light.  People have chided me for that, saying I am not living in the “real world.”  And yet, my world has been a happy one.  I have experienced plenty of pains and heartaches, of course.  But I was born with my default set on “happy.”

In today’s world, which seems determined to polarize people and politics, it has been more challenging for me to find my happy place.  So instead I am focusing on a new reference point.  It now looks like those yellow signs you see posted at schools or gas stations or libraries that read SAFE PLACE.  Where and when I feel safe, I feel happy and I am living in the Light.

So, where are all those SAFE PLACES??? They are where we create them.  At Book Club.  Or Bunco.  Or the dog park.  My sacred Fridays with my Bestest Friend.  Lying in bed with my children or my husband, or lounging in the screened in porch where we can open our hearts and share.  Even at my computer when Spirit fills me and forms a space/time worm hole of creativity for me.

What does a SAFE PLACE look like?  For me, it’s a place of calm and peace where I can be my real ME, not the cardboard cutout I sometimes have worn out in the world. Do I need to be alone to feel safe?  Sometimes.  But I think I prefer to be in the company of other like-minded people who can offer me the safety of their love and respect and I can offer them the same.

Are there enough SAFE PLACES for us?  There could be, if each of us starts creating more right this minute. How do we do that?  By being Beacons of Light.  Like moths to the flame, people will be attracted and approach.  Stay calm.  Stay open. L-i-s-t-e-n to them. Let them be.  Each time you are with them, the mutual feeling of safety increases and Voila!  A new SAFE PLACE is born.  Then, teach or show or encourage or challenge them to go out and create more SAFE PLACES with other people.  Or trees.  Or animals. Whatever works.

Are you thinking I am an ostrich, hiding my head in the safe sand where I can’t see all the injustice, anger or inequality swirling through our country and our planet?  I know there is a dangerous darkness that could easily swallow me up and leave me feeling hopeless and helpless.  I do look at it daily, voice my concerns to my Congresspersons, spit and shout for a few minutes—and then move back to the Light.  Bless the darkness and live in the Light.

Do I have a privileged life? Yes. Does that guarantee happiness or safety? No.  I remember an Oprah show when she told the audience about a woman she met who lived in a dirt floored hut in an impoverished nation.  The woman glowed as she showed off a small fabric hanging she had made.  Oprah said that woman was one of the happiest people she had ever met.  She had found and made her own Safe Place.  Her place of Light and Love.

What do I do when I am not in one of those places?  I take a breath and find my center.  Then I cover myself with a bubble of white light and, like Dorothy, follow the yellow brick road to the nearest SAFE PLACE.  They really aren’t that hard to find.  You just have to first believe in them, trust they are there and then GO.

If that seems a bit overwhelming or even nonsensical right now, I can lend you a well-used but highly effective pair of rose colored glasses to get you on your way.

Comments

In A World Of Light And Darkness, How Do You Stay In The Light? — 8 Comments

  2. This is exactly where I am! In the process of defining my own safe place, so that I can in turn create safe places for those I work with, both staff and students. It’s like the instructions from stewardess, “place the oxygen on your own face first before trying to assist a child or anyone else.”

    As for the darkness verses the Light, I try to keep in mind, that even in the light there is a little bit of darkness. It is the shadow, that which defines the image so that we can “see” it. In order for us to see either, darkness or Light, a little bit of both must be present. With that in mind, I can take a more confident breath, knowing that all is not lost, far as long as I can see, there is hope.

    • Hope was at the bottom of Pandoras’s box, left there for us mere mortals who need its daily inspiration.

  3. In struggling with agoraphobia, safe was the first word for me to lean on, and that was decades ago–early 70’s. Since then, anything written containing the word catches me as a reader, as well, frankly, as someone hanging in there. Needless to say, I love this! Thank you, Karen.

    • Sally, the phrase “safe and sound” came to me as I read your comment. Stability comes from being grounded and centered. Like you.

  4. I’m thinking my non-techiness has taken over, but I know you’ll get my correct reply with your correct question because you’re a great techie as well as other things too numerous to mention although I can do that on the spot.
    I’m beginning to collect little lanterns and seem to see lanterns everywhere. I think we’re all lanterns, walking light, eyes held sto the revealed way as we walk it.

    • Still working on my “techiness” though I am quite skilled in “trekkiness.” SyFy nerds unite!

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