Paying Forward the Wisdom of Light

Next week I'll be speaking at a conference on Suicide Awareness and Prevention.  And in my preparations, I've been reflecting on my "Why." Why am I called to do this? What gives me the authority to speak at this conference and everyone attending?  Why is this important to me?

And while there's a much longer story (isn't there always?), I'll keep it short and sweet.  Because as someone who once struggled with his mental, emotional, and physical health and was convinced he had no good purpose for being here, I'm called to share, and embody, Hope. Hope that it does, indeed, get better.

In life, we will all travel down dark roads.  Some roads will last hours, some days, and other years and even decades.  But they don't last forever.  That's something very important that we can learn from those trials and tribulations if we allow ourselves: That the Light will always shine again.  Whether it be for hours, days, years, or decades...darkness will always give way to light. So in experiencing this physical life, we are sure to experience both.

Now early on in life, especially with that first or second dark road, it can be tempting to believe that's untrue. 

Simply because we haven't had our own personal experience to know it firsthand.  So it is easy to think, speak, and act in accordance with the belief that "it will always be this way."  It's easy to believe that the darkness is all there is. But then, that belief is challenged.  Just when it can't get any darker, the Light breaks through and shines upon us. And even if it’s just for a split second, that changes us and our experience of life radically. And then we can no longer think, speak, and act in absolutes and remain truthful.  Because we've experienced the Light and now we know the reality of Light for ourselves - not just through hearsay or as an idea or theoretical concept.  And with more light, we now have the opportunity to see a bigger picture and greater purpose at play.  That there's More. And that we have a choice between the Light and the Dark.

So as I prepare for my presentation and the meditation that I'll be sharing at the conference and I reflect on my Why, I think back to the younger me when he first discovered the Light.  When he woke up and realized that maybe God didn’t make a mistake and maybe he does belong here on Earth. Maybe he does have a purpose and maybe he can make a difference. Maybe he can be healed.  And I reflect on the journey that I've been on since then to becoming the man I am today:  A man who wants to be here, who knows he his purpose, and who is healing more and more every day.  A being that younger me would have said was "impossible." 

So at the conference, in my daily healing practice as a Guide, Healer, Warrior, Teacher, and Life Activation Practitioner, and even today sharing this with you, I am called to share, and embody, Hope.  Hope that it does get better.  Hope that there's More to life than just darkness and fumbling about in our search for purpose and meaning.  And Hope that each one of us, no matter the dark, scary, and horrible roads we've traveled, are on a journey towards knowing, understanding, and gaining wisdom, so we can share and pay forward the inevitability of Light.

And that we are, in fact, transformed through our journeys…not in spite of them.