To be seen with a flashlight
In a world cruel to you, you should never lose your spark, kindness, or compassion.
To hold a flashlight
Hi
Have you held a flashlight in the dark recently, maybe in search of an object, or to get a better view of something you’re looking at? I am fascinated by how the flashlight works, it narrows down your view and helps you focus on the illuminated area before you, you start to notice intricate things, things that were once lost in the wide view, and even better is when you turn the flashlight off and your mind recalls what you saw under the light and it appears vivid in your mind compared to the rest of the area, it just floats there and you’re now aware of it, whatever ou saw, it’s there, it’s always going to be.
To be seen with a flashlight
Have you ever met someone genuinely curious about knowing you? That looks at you without expectations or complexities, but for the sole purpose of understanding what makes you you? Have you ever met someone you can be comfortable failing in their presence without being rebuked for “being”? Someone who lets you know they are there to know you even though it’s messy, who looks at you the way a squirrel looks at a pine tree, eager to explore every inch, every crack, every seedling? Can you be that person for yourself ?
To be a flashlight
I once had a mentor I stayed under for four years, and he hammered on one phrase all through that time; at first it was infuriating to hear until it became what I’d find myself saying often, and now I wish I had heard it even more than I did. Every time a low point struck that made one almost give up on being kind, he’d say, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another”, something to remind you that in a world cruel to you, you should never lose your spark, never lose your kindness, never lose your compassion. And so I carry the light he gave me, and I remind myself that even if it burns on both ends, it will only make the room brighter. Can you also hold your candle out for others to see even when life gives you no reason to ?
p.s. I toiled away until I figured out how to personalise the post for every reader, hehehe