A Lighthouse
I used to have this obsession with chasing shiny things. Shiny achievements, shiny objects, shiny people - things that would ensure I could print the resume of my life on diamond-encrusted paper. Things that I could point to and tell myself and anyone who was listening, "Look how sparkly I am!" What I didn't realize is that those things had a lot less value than I thought. Sometimes I got the shiny things I wanted and realized that up close, they were much more cloudy and flawed than I thought they were. Other times I didn't get the shiny things I wanted because they weren't for me - I was never supposed to have them in the first place.
But who needs a resume on diamond-encrusted paper anyway? A person sorting through resumes looking for a new hire might be impressed...or they might glance at it briefly and then throw it on the pile of other resumes they've read - all printed on standard white paper from Kinko's.
I once had a dream that I was waiting for someone and that person was holding me back. I wasn't getting where I was going because they were supposed to come with me but they were taking a long time to arrive because they got sidetracked. In hindsight, as my life has continued to progress since then, I've realized that the problem wasn't that that person was slowing me down - it's that I was waiting on them when I shouldn't have been. I should have just kept going and let them get where they were going on their own. They didn't come with me because they weren't supposed to. And unfortunately, by waiting on them, my progress came to a standstill and I woke up without ever reaching my destination.
Who or what is in your life that isn't supposed to go with you into your next season? What's in your mind, your heart, your soul that is weighing you down and impeding your progress? Time to release it. What dreams are you chasing that are on loan from someone else? Return them. What stowaways have you tried to bring with you on your journey that you should have left behind at the port? Send them back.
I was obsessed with shiny things. I thought I'd get where I wanted to be if I was shiny enough. I thought I'd meet the right person if I was shiny enough. I thought my life would be complete if I was shiny enough. But the thing is, it's one thing to adorn yourself in shiny things in an attempt to attract attention; it's another thing entirely to shine, unadorned, like a lighthouse, doing what you were designed to do, your natural brilliance a beacon that draws all to you who are destined to reach you and points the way to those lost souls who you are destined to rescue. A lighthouse doesn't need to be gold-plated or diamond-encrusted. A lighthouse doesn't need to try to be shiny. In fact, in daylight, it just sits there, majestic and silent, waiting for its turn to brighten the world in its own special way. It patiently waits for each sunset, and then it simply lets its light shine so that all who see it can find their way.
Are you a lighthouse? Or a 10-carat resume?
But who needs a resume on diamond-encrusted paper anyway? A person sorting through resumes looking for a new hire might be impressed...or they might glance at it briefly and then throw it on the pile of other resumes they've read - all printed on standard white paper from Kinko's.
I once had a dream that I was waiting for someone and that person was holding me back. I wasn't getting where I was going because they were supposed to come with me but they were taking a long time to arrive because they got sidetracked. In hindsight, as my life has continued to progress since then, I've realized that the problem wasn't that that person was slowing me down - it's that I was waiting on them when I shouldn't have been. I should have just kept going and let them get where they were going on their own. They didn't come with me because they weren't supposed to. And unfortunately, by waiting on them, my progress came to a standstill and I woke up without ever reaching my destination.
Who or what is in your life that isn't supposed to go with you into your next season? What's in your mind, your heart, your soul that is weighing you down and impeding your progress? Time to release it. What dreams are you chasing that are on loan from someone else? Return them. What stowaways have you tried to bring with you on your journey that you should have left behind at the port? Send them back.
I was obsessed with shiny things. I thought I'd get where I wanted to be if I was shiny enough. I thought I'd meet the right person if I was shiny enough. I thought my life would be complete if I was shiny enough. But the thing is, it's one thing to adorn yourself in shiny things in an attempt to attract attention; it's another thing entirely to shine, unadorned, like a lighthouse, doing what you were designed to do, your natural brilliance a beacon that draws all to you who are destined to reach you and points the way to those lost souls who you are destined to rescue. A lighthouse doesn't need to be gold-plated or diamond-encrusted. A lighthouse doesn't need to try to be shiny. In fact, in daylight, it just sits there, majestic and silent, waiting for its turn to brighten the world in its own special way. It patiently waits for each sunset, and then it simply lets its light shine so that all who see it can find their way.
Are you a lighthouse? Or a 10-carat resume?
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