own your light
in this month's keynote presentation i ask the question: what does it mean to own your light? this talk is about showing up and being seen... speaking your truth and sharing your stories.
transcript:
i’ve been working on a book. i call it my book book, because i’ve written many PDF workbooks and ebooks, but this one is a real life physical book… one you can hold in your hands, turn the corners on the pages, and lend to a friend. to be honest this process of planning, writing, editing, formatting, launching, funding, publishing, and delivering the book book is a bit crazy… some days i wonder what the heck i was thinking!
i think it may be the most challenging, most awesome, most rewarding, most button-pushing journey of my life so far. but no matter what comes, i am so glad i am doing it… that i am bringing this book into the world.
this book is me owning my light.
you see, i talk a lot about building a lighthouse and igniting your light. this is my mission – i want you to shine.
but the thing i think we sometimes forget is that it is not enough to just ignite your light – find what lights you up and give yourself permission to have more of that in your life – you also need to BEAM YOUR LIGHT out to the world.
that is why the lighthouse is such a perfect symbol. we could have chosen a candle or a light bulb or a giant crystal chandelier as the symbol for our light – but the lighthouse reminds us that it is not enough to flip the switch and light up, we are here to share our light with others, to beam it out like the beacon of the lighthouse.
we need to stand in our truth, honour or light, and say out loud: hey world, this is me.
as i said – my book has been this journey for me.
telling my story, speaking my truth, sharing my passion, voicing my dreams, declaring my mission, baring my heart and soul.
not going to lie – it’s freaking scary.
but it has also created the biggest shifts in my life. it has helped me to build up my confidence, my sense of worthiness, my belief in myself. it has helped me get unstuck and deal with my fear and my blocks.
and so it has been worth it.
now i am not saying that you need to go write a book – you can of course – but the book is just the example, the vehicle. the journey is what matters. it’s the step you take to being more visible, raising your voice, speaking your truth.
the step you take to say: hey world, this is me.
you can share your light in so many ways: you can speak up at the next meeting you attend, you can join and engage in or even create your own group, you can write something on social media or start a blog (or yep even write your own book!), you can make a video (facebook live and periscope are so fun for this!), you can share your voice through artwork or photographs or music or movement or any other facet of your creativity, you can sit down beside your partner, your friend, your family and say, hey: this is what matters to me, this is what lights me up, this is me.
the point is that there is no right or wrong way to “beam your light” – there is just your way.
keep in mind that you do need to push that light outwards away from the shore – to push yourself just a little bit out of your comfort zone. if it feels a little bit scary to speak up in some way, or to share with others a bit more about what lights you up, or to reveal something that you are used to keeping to yourself – well then you are doing it right!
i said earlier that my book book feels a lot like baring my heart and soul.
when you check the thesaurus for the word “baring” a synonym is “bring to light”.
how awesome is that.
when we bare ourselves, when we share our selves, when we put a voice to what is inside… we “bring to light”.
your light matters. it is meant to be shared, not hidden inside.
i think we each have 2 choices here.
we can keep doing what we have always done… using facebook to share funny cat videos and having surface conversations with the people in our life and swallowing down that which matters the most to us (or interests us or lights us up or kind of scares us a little or makes us wonder.)
or we can honour our own journey, we can honour our light, by sharing it out loud in some way, with at least one new person.
when you own your light and speak your truth you send a strong message to yourself, to the universe, and to those around you… a message that your light does indeed matter. (and i am telling you it does!)
the number one bit of feedback i hear when i talk about beaming your light - sharing your stories, passions, journey, is this: who am i to share my story? no one will care. it doesn’t really matter. i am not that special.
well first of all – you speak your truth or share your story or shine your light for you. you do it to honour you.
but when you do, you give others permission to do the same. and that is a beautiful thing!
beaming your light is not just about the lighthouse sending out the signal. it’s about the boat floating out there at sea, waiting for the message…. wishing also to be seen and heard.
it’s about connection.
i once had the opportunity to ask one question of a wise group of old souls who call themselves “the ones.” my question was about worthiness: i asked them about that feeling that so many of us have… “who am i too…” feeling of unworthiness
here is their answer:
what if you stopped thinking about yourself?
what if instead you think of that one person that you are here to serve or help?
can you picture that one person?
imagine her sitting alone on a single chair in a dark room… in a world that is not making sense right now. feeling isolated, lost, frustrated, annoyed, confused, overwhelmed, ineffective, lonely (or any of those other horrible things any one of us is struggling with.)
what does it feel like for her?
the pain. the despair. the disconnect.
feel that now.
what can you do for her?
i think you already know exactly what she needs.
can you step up from your chair and walk across to her? can you wrap her in a warm blanket, offer her a hug, let her know she is not alone?
yes there is a gap you must cross. a comfort zone. a fear that you will be criticised. a voice that says you might fail. a feeling deep inside that you are not enough.
but you must step over that gap. you must cross that threshold.
find your one person. go out to her.
take your heart to her heart.
nothing else matters, only your connection to her.
when you do this, not only will you make a difference to her, but to many others like her. and you will also make a difference to YOU.
that is pretty powerful.
sharing your stories, speaking up, expressing what matters to you, putting a voice to what has ignited inside of you… “saying hey world this is me” is a powerful thing.
you build your worthiness. you own your light. you connect to YOU.
and you connect to others, simply by shining.
beam your light outwards. it was never meant to be hidden inside.