If your inner child told you a story, what would it be about? Innocence? Fearlessness? Love? Over and over again we hear "Love Thy Neighbour". How about stretching our imagination beyond that? What else would there be to love or at least have compassion for? However far your imagination may go, it will always land on some form of God's creation. And if it is God's creation, then there is a good reason for it. In this day and age Love has been reduced to a simple word. 'Love Is Light' challenges this narrative and presents the possibility of an inner Utopia where negative emotions lose their grip on the mind, but most importantly on the heart. Gift this story to a child or better yet to yourself. That it may awaken your innocence. That it may turn you fearless. That it may take your knowing of Love to a deeper level.
From the author:
We are born, we grow up, we make plans for the future. And that's great. I'm the mother of planning! My entire life I've been a performer, so for decades, my plan was pretty clear-to be a star. At the surface, it seemed like I was on the right path for a while. But underneath my (un)awareness, something else was quietly developing, growing, moving forward like an unstoppable locomotive.
On a rainy day in March of 2017, I became aware of what my new path was to be. When that happened, my brain went into cognitive dissonance; I knew it was the truth but couldn't comprehend it. Ironically, everything I had experienced in my perfectly planned life up until that point, tied in perfectly with this magnificent new plan. Its message was so undeniable, so straight forward and in my face, there was no question of acceptance. I knew in my heart this was my task. I realized that anything meaningful in my life hadn't been what I religiously wrote in my planner at the beginning of each year, but something entirely different. The deep, inherent purpose we each have is something we were born with, and therefore, is non-negotiable. It is our gift from God.
Once in a while though, my left brain did kick in to feed me doubts. I thought God made a mistake when He chose to open my heart to this idea, considering my past was heavily tainted with the opposite of love-fear.
I couldn't even tell you how far back fear goes in my life -it's as if I was born afraid. Over the years, my fears turned into severe anxiety then into panic attacks in my early thirties. Holding back my tears was something I battled almost daily. And I became a master of covering it up. Yes, it turned into a persistent heavy ball lodged in my chest, but I had to hide it. How could anybody in their right mind understand that what I was terrified of was invisible?
What could possibly make an innocent child lack freedom of play and thought? What could possibly make a reasonable, supposedly educated, young woman feel like there was no way out? What could be so incredibly impressive, yet so deviant as to suppress a life created by God? The answer is simple: lies.
At this point, it doesn't matter what those indoctrinating lies were or what their source was. What maters is this: if Love Is Light had been read to me when I was a child, I would have grown up not overcome by fear. I would have lived my life treasuring my inner child -God's gift of innocence, too often mistaken for naivety. I would have grown up knowing the utter, most important truth: connecting with the love in our hearts in unity can be truly transformative -a lesson that should be taught on the first day of school. Or maybe even earlier.
This is the message I heard through the drops of rain falling down on my face that blessed March afternoon. I hope it will take your ability to know love to a new level -I know it did mine.
