LIGHT UP THE SKY
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Take a look above at the name and description of this regular column – it is called “Bright Spots – A Place to Find Information and Inspiration for Your Life”. The concept of this column is to provide positive, life-affirming reflections for the reader that will literally “brighten” your day and your life. In light of the recent economic realities, it has become increasingly apparent that as a country, as a society, as a community we are all in need of as many “bright spots” that we can get. So from now on this column will highlight some real “bright spots” from everyday life right here. This will be the place to come to read about all of the good stuff, the success stories that are happening right here all around us. Because there is good stuff happening – it just doesn’t make the news like the bad news does.
Just today three “bright spots” illuminated my day. I learned about an elderly person’s medical bill that was forgiven; a friend who got a great job after many months of searching and a client who was asked for an interview for a dream job.
For a moment I found it hard to believe that we were in any kind of a recession or unemployment crisis. The positive energy that I received from hearing about these “bright spots” created a momentum of their own and made my workday more productive and enjoyable.
Bright spots are always there, but often they are overshadowed by fear and anxiety so they are harder to find. For some reason it seems we can always identify what is “not working” or what is “not there” easier than we notice what “is working” and what “is there”. This rings true especially in our thoughts and feelings about ourselves. We tend to notice our own faults or our weaknesses more readily than strengths. Much of the time when we look at a situation, a problem or at our own lives, we can readily identify what “isn’t there”- what is missing instead of what “is there”. We completely miss the “bright spot”.
Imagine that it is nighttime and you are outside looking at the dark sky. At first, as you look around all you may notice is how vast the darkness seems – it is hard to see anything because it is dark. But as your eyes move up toward the sky, something catches your eye – a tiny spot, a flicker of light – it is a star shining so brightly through the darkness that you can see it from thousands of miles away – it is a “bright spot”. As your attention focus on that one star, suddenly you become aware of other points of light, shining stars, “bright spots” covering the sky.
This week, practice noticing the “bright spots”. Be a detective on a mission of finding or collecting as many “bright spots” as you can. Once you start noticing them they will pop up everywhere and soon you will be surrounded by positivity and light.
