Time to shine our light!

If I asked you to look back over the past year and tell me whether this has been a 'landmark' or 'watershed' year for you, or whether it has been a bit 'same-old, same-old', I'd like to bet that most of you would say it has been the former. With a certain US president pretty much holding the world to ransom with his outlandish actions and ideas - which seem so at odds with the interests of most of the people on the planet; with natural disasters reaching alarming levels and with the reality of climate change becoming ever harder to ignore - and for any number of other reasons, a lot of us would agree that we have reached some sort of crunch point.

But you know what, at the end of this very powerful year, we may be whipped up; we may be raw; we may be tired. But it's now, more than ever, that we need to realise - that no matter how raw, how tired we are, there are more resources still inside us. Has anyone found that? And it's at times like these, when everything appears to be falling apart, crumbling down around our ears, that we need to find them - discover our unique gifts, find our passion, find our light - and shine it for all we're worth!

Because if this world has ever needed you to use your gifts, it's now.

As Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of Women who Run with the Wolves, memorably put it, ‘We were made for these times!’ 'One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world,’ she said, ‘is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times.... Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.' Because it’s not about finding ways to patch up this aching world, put a plaster on the wound; it’s about finding our soul gifts, shining our light stronger despite the wound, despite our fear, despite our vulnerability.

It’s always been the same, throughout the history of this planet… it's been when humanity was pushed against the wall that we have found our greatest strengths (remember the story of the mother who, in a bid to save her child who was trapped underneath a car, lifted the car up singlehandedly to get him out - a feat that would perhaps not have been possible if she had not had such a powerful motivation?)

And yes, of course, it’s easy to be discouraged when things are happening in our world that don’t make sense, that don’t sit right with our shining souls. But that’s no reason to let life close us down. Rather, we need to do the things that help our hearts stay open, help us stay open to life…. that help rebuild the fire inside. Sometimes we have to start small, with a walk in nature, say - connecting with animals, trees and plants – or dancing to our favourite tracks in our room… anything that will help kindle the flame. And when we find the flame again, find our passion, we need to keep tending the fire, nurturing that flame, by honouring our truth, being our authentic selves, speaking out, doing the thing that inspires us… until our light is fully on again.

Because, as Estes says in this famous passage: ‘When a great ship is in harbour and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.’When we find that passion inside us, we’ll do anything – yes anything – to express it, to live it, no matter how choppy that ocean looks. And when we start to live from that passion and sail out onto the open sea and let our light shine for others to see, then we have the power to change things for ourselves and maybe other souls who can find their way from our bright shining light.

So, let me ask you a question (or two). Do you know what sets your soul on fire? Do you have a passion that fills your life with purpose, or a soul yearning that lights you up? What’s blocking you, what’s stopping you from uncovering, feeling, expressing that thing?

I'm offering a free Discover your Unique Soul Gifts to Shine in the World session to a limited number of people in January. No matter where you are in the world, as long as you have an internet connection and can get onto Skype or Zoom, this may be for you. Fill in the form here and we’ll see if we can get you fired up ready for your 2018.