On Being the Light…

By Jennifer Dixon MBA ERYT 500 – Just last weekend, we had a new customer to the studio come in to check us out.  She was a super sweet lady and made her first purchase while we were on a break during teacher training.  She chatted with me and one of our trainees and then left with a wave and a promise to be back. We went back into training and then around 5:30 that night (when we were finishing up) we came back out front and realized she’d left her purse right there on the front desk.  

I waited 20 minutes or so figuring she would remember, but my family goes to church on Saturday nights (because it’s WAY easier) so I had to run to make it to church at a  “respectably late” time. –don’t judge me.

I left a note on the door to call me and we’d get her bag to her.  Of course, about 30 minutes after I left, I got a phone call from my new (very upset) friend.  Long story longer, Our amazing Level 1 Teacher, Elizabeth came to the rescue and met our new friend at the studio so she could retrieve her belongings.  

Our friend was incredibly thankful and happy but this is where the story takes a different turn.

Fast forward 4 or 5 days and I got a call.  It was our friend. She was still so incredibly thankful to the point of tears–for the kindness that she’d received while in the studio and after she’d left her handbag.  She’d been having a really rough week and was just convinced the world was too full of evil people that she wasn’t sure she wanted to go on….until she left her purse at our studio.

Let’s stop right here and think about this.  She thought the world was just too evil to go on…

Is she alone?  With the hatred, the terrible killings, the negative news reports….it’s no wonder she felt that way.

She said it was one simple act, that showed her that there were “still good people in the world.”

Ok, another break here.  What did we do? We noticed she’d left her personal belonging, and we kept it safe until she came back.  It wasn’t even something that had to be discussed when the purse was left, it was put in a safe place when she came back to retrieve it, she was helped.  

What a simple act that made SUCH a big deal on the person to whom it helped.  

What an honor to be the light that helped her to know the world wasn’t only full of evil people.

Here’s the thing, that phone call, randomly received, several days after the event (and I will be honest, I had already forgotten), the call just to tell me how much it meant to her, well, she almost magically lifted me up!  That simple phone call, it made MY day. It was a light in an otherwise pretty dark day I was having, and suddenly, I was lifted and made to feel like I was gonna be o.k. How amazing is that?  

Being the light…what does that mean to you?

Maybe it’s something you do unconsciously?  Maybe it’s an intentional thing like a weekly volunteer session at your favorite non-profit.  Maybe it’s something random, like telling that person beside you at the studio whom you don’t know or hadn’t seen in a while, “hello, how are you?” or, “wow, that was a great job today.” Maybe it’s something so simple as that compliment or genuine interest that’s just enough light to help someone through a tough time.

We need that light.  We need to be that light to each other.

Regardless your religion, race, status, sex–we all need to be the light to those around us.  Sometimes it’s harder than others, but sometimes, it’s just something that happens and you don’t even think about.  

I encourage you to take the time to help brighten someone’s day today…every day even.  Whether it’s a smile to the stranger across from you at the store, or holding the door open for the person coming up behind you.  I encourage you to take a second out of your day to be the light for someone else. We need it. We ALL do. Especially now. Especially when it seems so dark.

Here’s the thing about darkness.  A little bit of light goes a LOOOOONG way.  

Let’s endeavor to try to continue being the light.  Before we know it, the darkness will have to go away and who knows, maybe even the smallest shift will be noticed and embraced, and lasting.  Maybe the darkness we read about or see on the news will slowly go away and we can all feel a bit more peace. That’s my hope, both for now and for many years to come.