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Light is the source of all colours and life

Vivien
May 9, 2017
2 min read

You are the light of the world. So shine forth your radiance - your unique personality, gifts and talents.

Even as many of us are trying to stay ahead and/ or reacting to the ever-changing market competition, we find ourselves constantly upgrading ourselves with various skills and proving ourselves. So how do we stand out from others?

What makes us distinctively different?

How much is ever enough?

Is our best sufficient?

What we do, our jobs, skills, qualifications, educations and background do not define us. If any of this do, then we are living very tragically sad lives.

We live in an era of several unpredictables, ups and downs, fluctuations - you just never know what will happen next. The advantage you have yesterday, will be replaced by the trends of tomorrow. You don’t have to do anything wrong, as long as your competitors catch the wave and do it RIGHT, you can lose out and fail. For example, Nokia used to own a large portion of the smartphone market share before the iPhone came out in 2007. It might be depressing should you have been a leader, and then a laggard thereafter.

So what remains constant in the every-changing world?

Who we are (our identity) do not fluctuate. We are who we are regardless of circumstances.

We need to be able to differentiate between guilt and shame. Although many use these two words interchangeably, they actually refer to different experiences.

Guilt involves the awareness of having done something wrong; it arises from our actions (even if it might be one that occurs in fantasy). Examples could be that you have made a mistake, you have failed in not meeting expectations and/ or deadlines.

However, shame may result from the awareness of guilt but apparently is not the same thing. It's a painful feeling about how we appear to others (and to ourselves) and doesn't necessarily depend on our actions. In other words, shame assaults identity.

Shame is one of the most destructive forces on any individual.

Shame tries to speak about who you are as a person. Shame wants to rewrite your story. It wants to redefine your identity and give you a little paper nametag.“You are a failure,” it screams. “You are a terrible parent. You have totally failed as a spouse. You are a colossal mess-up, hurting everyone who comes in contact with you.” Shame grows as you listen to the accusations that come from your prodigal, your community, and even yourself.

So in actuality, a failure made does not mean that we are a failure. A mistake made does not equate to us being a mistake. Shame begins to lose its dark power when you expose it to Light. Light overrules darkness, in this case shame. Our identity speaks words of reality, promise, and hope—words that arm us against the blistering accusations of shame.

“To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.”

No matter how fast light travels, it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it. So every moment of light and dark is a miracle. Do not downplay the essence of light because of the presence of darkness.