Sun Goddess Let Your Light Shine-#SOL 20 Day 23

During an on-line yoga class titled “Let Your Inner Light Shine,” the instructor encouraged us to invoke the Hindu sun goddess Surya in our every day lives. It made me think of the line, “Let your little light shine,” and how that line is connected to the Bible. I looked it up and I believe it comes from the new testament passage from Matthew 5:14-16. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket but in a lamp-stand and gives light to all who are in the house.” And then my final connection with this yoga meditation was to Joseph Campbell’s mantra, “Follow your bliss.”

It pleases me to see the same message on how to live a meaningful life existing in different religions. This reinforces the importance of the message and that there must be a solid truth to believing that this is the way we should pursue our lives. Whether I am doing yoga or listening to a priest explain the bible, to me the message is an uplifting one.

Be optimistic. To the best of your ability be yourself. Yes, there are circumstances beyond our control that may make shining difficult, but how we deal with the circumstances with the talents we are given is the light in our souls that we share with each other.

We can look to well developed religions to provide this message, but there are contemporary examples of how to live this message. Mr. Fred Rogers made the message relatable to millions of people. He is quoted as saying,
“As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has–or ever will have–something inside that is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.”

What can you do to shine your light today and not hide it under a basket? What can you do to lift others and yourself up? We’re all in this together. Now is the time to unleash the light. Don’t worry, I’ll think about it, too. It takes some work to build up the heat that’s needed to shine. Try something new. Read something different. Listen to new music. Talk like someone is going to listen and take your ideas seriously. Who knows? You could be the next Mr. Rogers.