Turn on the Light

Over the summer, I picked up this book at the library:

It is a book with daily tidbits of inspiration and suggestions 

that stem from one woman's journey to find peace and happiness in her life.

I didn't read it cover to cover,

but I did find many ideas that were meaningful to me.

 I especially love this excerpt about accessing spiritual light in our lives.

"Making the absolute best of ourselves is not an easy task. It is a pleasurable pursuit, it is the reason we were born, but it requires patience, persistence, and perseverance. For many of us it also requires prayer. That's because we find it far easier to learn to live by our own lights when we access a Higher Source of Power to illuminate our path. The filmmaker and writer Julia Cameron calls this switching on "spiritual electricity" that transcends our own limitations.

"In my own journey I have found this to be very true. Usually I limited the times I requested that the Power be turned on to the occasions when I was appearing in public: giving workshops, lecturing, holding business meetings. Then it occurred to me that this was like living in a house with electricity but turning on the lights only for a couple of hours every few months. And I wondered why I was frequently bumping into obstacles. So I started to ask for the Power to be switched on in my daily life: as a mother, a wife, a writer, and a friend. When I asked, it was turned on. When I didn't, I stayed in the dark. You don't have to be a master electrician to understand what's going on here: someone has to turn on the switch. Asking is the way of activating spiritual electricity. When there is Light we see remarkably well. We see with clarity. And what we can see if we look deep within is that the authentic self is the Soul made visible.

"Do not try to remake yourself into something you're not. Just try making the best of what God made. The sacred art and craft of nurturing our souls and the souls of those we love is Simple Abundance soulcraft. Begin today by turning on the Light.
(February 4: The Authentic Self is the Soul Made Visible)

Sometimes it can be hard to see things clearly. 

Sometimes when we look at others or our experiences or even ourselves,

we are looking in the dark.

We see only the negative things, the failings, the weaknesses.

We see only how things are hurting or inconveniencing us.

We see only our mistakes and disappointments.

I believe that turning on spiritual light in our lives

can help us to see things as they really are.

We can see the good in others and in our experiences,

even if they are painful or challenging.

But most importantly,

we can see who we really are.

We can see and understand the worth in ourselves

and that can give us the power to do both simple and hard things.