I was sitting just now, sipping my cappuccino, wondering what I’d write.  I knew that something would come … and I’d begin to put words together.  I trusted.

As I thought about the shot of caramel I asked the barista Sasha to add, a word came …

Lighthouse

It slid smoothly down the slope of my mind.  I welcomed it.  Would I say something about lighthouses that’s never been said before?  I doubt it.  But that’s okay.  As long as there’s goodness residing in this post …

***

My first thought: I want to be a lighthouse

My second thought: I am a lighthouse

I found lighthouse quotes.  Most of them didn’t sing to me.  These ones did:

A lighthouse doesn’t save the ships.  It doesn’t go out and rescue them.  It’s just this pillar that helps to guide people home.

Yes, I can do this.  Even though I do good works in the world, that doesn’t feel as big as simply standing and loving.  I’m a presence, someone who’s just here.  Showing what my home is.

To be a lighthouse, you must be strong enough to resist every kind of storm and every kind of loneliness, and you must have a powerful light inside you.

Ten years ago I couldn’t sense any light within.  Gradually though, someone has opened up my dimmer switch to “high”.  The fears and sorrows still make an appearance but they are usually nudged to the periphery.

The lighthouse, like a guardian angel, watches over sailors lost at sea, offering them reassurance that they are not alone.

My life is us.  I’m here to lift up, to cherish, to connect.  I try to leave people with the afterglow of contact.

We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does.  Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining – they just shine.

Oh, that’s funny.  I just spent time in this post talking about the light I feel within me.  I hope my cannon fire fades away.

May we all shine