The Light Bearer

People say they don’t exist. They say they’re a fairy tale spun by the brokenhearted to give them hope. They say there used to be many of them, but now they are all gone out of the world. Now we live in a civilized world, an intelligent world defined only by scientific fact. The world we live in today has been stripped of every myth and legend ever known. No one believes in fairy tales anymore, except what we see in the movies. The big screen is alive with superheroes, myths, and legends…tales of every strange and weird creature imaginable. That’s great for entertainment, but where is the food for the soul? We are all starving now. Somewhere just below the surface of our awareness, comfortably inside our consciousness, are the instructions for bringing light into the world…for becoming a light bearer. The problem is…we don’t remember how to access it. We don’t even believe it is possible, except that once in a while, we encounter a person that brings light into our world and we wonder how they did it. In those moments of crystal clarity, bathed in the brilliant light of their serenity, we know it’s still possible. We’ve experienced it! Then mostly, we shy away back into the shadows from where we came, pondering the mystery of the light and hoping we get to see it again. What we don’t expect or even look for is the possibility that we may become light bearers. We like to imagine ourselves as some kind of superhero, but never seriously expect our selves capable of greatness, yet we are. We all are…capable of greatness. This superpower comes at a very high cost. It is a cost most people are unwilling to bear. The cost is nothing less than a near elimination of the ego. We must become as nothing, or more exactly, we become a mere presence, an awareness; a watcher of things. Our thoughts and opinions mean nothing apart from a focused attention. There is no substance in them anymore. They don’t matter. All that ever matters is becoming more aware of this present moment and bearing witness to it. If you do that long enough the light begins to shine in you and through you. Sooner or later we all get an invitation to become a light bearer. We will mostly ignore it or not recognize the value of the offer, but one day, one day it becomes painfully obvious that was always available to us, but we didn’t honor it. Once we make a conscious choice to embrace the light, to let go of the pain and anguish and fear, and allow creation and connection to work in us and through us, we become transparent beings. We no longer concern ourselves with self-preservation, rather, we simply trust nature to unfold our path before us and take us where we need to be. Once there, the only single requirement is to be fully present in the moment and allow “it” to happen…. whatever that means. The only way “it” ever happens is when we are flooded with gratitude. There are only two ways to get gratitude: one is to receive an undeserved dose of unconditional love from someone, the other way is to give someone undeserving a dose of unconditional love. Giver or receiver doesn’t matter much-the result is the same. Being fully bathed in a miraculous moment is enough to make the transition. It’s always the same when waves of gratitude flow over you and through you and you realize you are the richest and luckiest person in the whole world. Before you even know it, you are giving light to those around you through your focused attention and concern for them. You almost forget you have any of your own problems at all. Congratulations- you are now a light bearer! We seriously need more light bearers among us.