Overcome Loneliness: Turn On The Light
by Nigel Taylor
Just as darkness fades when you switch on a light, so too does loneliness dissolve in presence of light. Finding that light can come in many different ways, one of which is to share with people who themselves embrace light and enjoy life. In that context Regina and I enjoy magnificent visits to Ireland each year, primarily for work but also to bathe in the light of the laughter and humour of this great land. Apart from sharing with the wonderful Irish people, we also delight in many moments of light hearted humour and expansiveness in the understanding of life. Both the expansion of consciousness and the humour go hand in hand. They both work with light, and so that is my theme in this sharing: Light.
First a little history for you. It relates to my home city of Perth, Western Australia.
On October 20th, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 spacecraft. On this mission, Glenn passed over Western Australia, and the people of Perth turned on their lights to support his mission. Glenn observed that the city was clearly visible from space, and as a result Perth became known worldwide as the “City of Light”. This early space mission set the stage for the Gemini and Apollo programs which culminated in NASA landing men on the moon.
Glenn was alone, thousands of miles above the earth, looking for a beacon that would assist his mission. A simple act gave him that help, given by the citizens of a city of – in those days – no more than 500,000 people, dotted in a remote and desolate landscape of 1 million square miles.
What About Today?
So why share this today? It is very simple. As I said, it is all about light. In this instance, enough light was generated to reveal to Glenn his position relative to the most isolated city in the world, as Perth was so known in 1962.
Isolation occurs not only in outer space, but also in inner space. It occurs in times when the light of our own inner being is blocked by the shadows of fear, frustration and confusion. Hence the importance of any spiritually celebrated Holiday Season, for these are times that hold enormous potential for great light to spread across the planet. If only for a few hours, it is still there, and it can be accessed through our genuine and authentic choice to tap it. When the light of so many souls is uplifted through joy and happiness, that is a great time to magnetize your own being and vibrate with the exact same frequency of love, light and joy.
Such Festivals of Light are celebrated in many different traditions; as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Diwali, the Winter Solstice, Japanese festival of Tōrō Nagashi (or the Festival of Floating Lanterns) and so forth. Each of these festivals, in its own way, celebrates something new…and that newness invokes light. With light we see and are better able to navigate our way through the challenges of life.
It is likely that many of you have previously approached this time with some degree of hesitancy as to exactly what you would choose as your “New Year’s resolution” and how you would keep it. How you would make your next year a better year. One that would be more joy filled and creative. A year that would contribute to uplifting not only your own life, but the lives of those with whom you share.
So let me get in very early and nudge you just a little.
The world really does change one person at a time. And each person changes themselves one thought, one word, and one deed at a time. So now is a good time to really take stock of all the shadows that block light from your life. Look at them honestly and take time to assess exactly what benefits come to you from these situations.
Then decide to act. Act decisively and purposefully. Either use the principles in The Power Before Thought (they are all listed at the back of the book in the last chapter), or/and meditate in such a way that you delete the power that drives the non-productive events of your life.
Whatever you do, take time to become a magnet to light and, with that light, radiate it out more and more to all with whom you share. I personally see each day as a birthday, each dawn as the start of a New Year where something truly special is about to dawn. Let’s use our time wisely and make it a magical one for all of creation.