September 2024
Be the Light
Listen to the audio version by Dorothy
Welcome to September and the return of Innisfree's newsletter after a swift two-month time out! Some of my top priority intentions were fulfilled as planned, with lists updated and paper collection either saved or purged; other items didn't make it - the keyboard was moved for better access and practice, but the theory lessons didn't happen. The trip to Victoria mentioned in June's newsletter included a warm reconnection with a long-time friend from Toastmaster days, supported by the gift of two friends who were my chauffeurs at each end - proving again that anxiety about making the trip was unfounded. An additional highlight was a visit from someone I have corresponded with for eleven years, meeting her daughter and tiny four-week granddaughter ... and an offer to visit her in Ireland! Mmmh, will Ireland go back onto my intention list? Stay curious!
How did you fare? I concluded our last newsletter on Courage by suggesting that we review our lives and acknowledge ourselves for times when we did push through our comfort zones to complete a project; or, bring a dormant dream to the surface for its revision, completion or elimination. However you fared, congratulate yourself and enjoy newly created memories.
Let's go now to our topic for this month, Be the Light, and how it came to be, which may spark your own remembrances or implement new ideas.
- Recently I watched the Hallmark movie, One Summer, where a new widower took his teenage daughter and younger son to his late wife's summer home, repaired a lighthouse that was special to her, which ultimately saved a life by beaming its light on the stormy water ...
- ... which brought to mind a lighthouse tapestry made by a friend for my late husband, a former Navy navigator, to which I had added a poem; and thirdly ...
- ... from the spring issue of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association newsletter, to "become the lighthouse in someone else's storm", referencing humorous writer Suzy Toronto: (https://suzytoronto.com).
- Then, a few days ago while waiting to cross the street, seeing a double-decker bus pass by with large letters, "Be the Light", advertising Trinity Western University ... knew it would become this month's title.
Going into September, when classes start again, autumn is in the air, bringing crisp colourful leaves, would you agree that it feels like a new beginning? Perhaps it's also a time to think new thoughts about our next step, about what is really important, and to question whether we are living our true calling. What if our true calling is being that lighthouse in someone's storm, shining our light and giving comfort with our presence in whatever way is most helpful? As Suzy Toronto wrote:
Maybe your true calling is to simply be their lighthouse. A lighthouse doesn't go out and rescue ships. It's a pillar of light that shines like a beacon ...(to) reach out into the darkness, and lovingly guide them home.
A new year - which is how I define September - could be the perfect time to ponder whether we are truly being what we want to be and do, or whether it's time to make some personal shifts, often a continuing and ever-changing quest. Dr. Gordon Wallace, author of Moonlight Serenade, Embracing Aging Mindfully, reminds us:
Jungian psychology adamantly proffers that the reality of being human is that it is impossible to become like somebody else ... your life-long quest is to become more fully who you are ...." (Page 174).
Aren't those wise words indeed? I think so. Let me now conclude this month's ideas with three additional gems that I brought back into my light during the recent paper review:
- By British author and playright, Michael McMillan: You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.
- By Amy Purdy, double amputee and bronze medalist at the snowboarding Paralympics in 2014, responding to what helped her through her darkest times: Gratitude; focusing on what I have versus what I don't have ... grateful for another chance to add a page to my adventure ... one day at a time, one dream at a time.
- By a Hospice friend who asks herself each evening: What surprised me today, and for what am I grateful?
I was certainly surprised and most grateful this week when I presented my new dental card and learned that 75% of the bill was covered ... an exciting way to go into September's new beginning.
Until we meet again next month, let's be a light for others by using our unique gifts and talents. As we create new experiences in the colourful days ahead, while being on the lookout for surprises, let's take to heart the words of French Philosopher, Albert Camus: Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
I wish you blessings upon blessings, and more so ... Namasté!
Dorothy B.
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Rev. Dorothy Blandford, Ph.D
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Surrey, BC, V4A 6E1, Canada
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