Wednesday Wish (120); A Lighter Shade of Life

photo via cedarpond.blogspot.com

Let me tempt you to follow me, my friend, just for a little while? To suspend the busy for a moment of dream, for a moment of gentle, for a few short strokes of kind. I’ve been waiting all night, you see, watching as you slumber, watching as you let those emotions and attitudes color your canvas a darker shade of light. I wont take you away for long. The lighter shade of light never keeps me from anything so I’m sure it wont keep you.

Have you seen the leaves just outside your front door? Did you notice that they wave to you when you head to work, when you don’t notice that you’re too busy to care? Do you know her name, for each one has a name, you know, nothing is exempt. This one is Lady’s Mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris, and she holds drops of water that look like dew but they don’t come from outside her, they come from inside, a gift, her essence, in memory of you.

And who else do you live among, yes the people but what about the things you forget to see every day? What about the rock you stumbled upon when it was trying to stop you from moving too fast? Or the fly that kept hitting the window, inviting you to dance? Did you hear the wind as it whispered funny jokes, as it tickled the trees and laughtered the leaves? Surely you see them all, surely you realize you’re not alone.

There’s a lighter shade to every light—have you ever seen the sun peak out from the clouds? And everything has a voice, already speaking, already heard, by open hearts, soft hearts, gentle ones that cherish the delicate and treasure the vulnerability in every single thing. When we learn the names of our flowers, when we recognize the stones, when we are touched by the animals and moved by the trees, we extend who we are, transforming a darker shade of light into a new, brighter, life-affirming light.

This path isn’t cement or carpeted with gold for it is hidden behind the busy and beneath the tough where so few dare to follow. Maybe they think they’ll be lonely or lost, or left alone spiraling into outer space. Truth is, when we connect with everything around us, not just the people but the rest of it, too, we realize we are less alone, less lost and more alive than we ever realized before.

For you see, the light of life is contagious. And there is always something around you, even a rock or a leaf or stray bunch of grass, begging you to see it, begging you to hear it, begging you to gobble up some of its life-affirming light. And when you finally do, when you finally recognize and enjoy the gifts surrounding you, you can’t help but dip your brush into that lighter color, painting your canvas an entirely new, brighter shade of life. Not just that, I'm fairly certain you won't be able to help but ask for another one's hand to lead them down the same path that I have led you.