“The light in me honors the light in you.” My yoga teacher often ends our classes with this saying. I loved the intention, but it took me a while to really “get it”. Yoga, mindfulness, and mediation are spoken of so much these days, and with the world, as it is today, I believe we absolutely need these reminders and positive vibes!!

I’ve heard about people being energy workers or lightworkers but didn’t always understand what exactly that meant. I grew up with meditation and yoga, and even spent time at spiritual retreat centers as a child, so the idea of this work was familiar to me but I thought it was reserved for spiritual teachers and gurus.

Like a lot of my stories, this one begins with, “after the hurricane…” Hurricane Maria in September of 2017 will always be a point of reference in my life. That is the thing about life-changing experiences - they change your life.

A Blackhawk helicopter flies into a rainbow post-storm

In the aftermath of that storm, the worst hurricane I have lived through in my 25 years on this island, our island community was devastated in many ways. There was the physical damage to trees, homes, roads, cars, and businesses, and also the effect that it had on the spirit of the people who lived here. It’s not easy going for months without power or running water, and as days went by, it wore on us all more and more. There were lots of amazing people in the community taking action to help others during this time, they were cutting trees to help get people out of blocked driveways, moving telephone poles and trees that were blocking roads, helping get tourists off the island on the mercy flights, cooking community dinners and getting information from the military, Red Cross and government agencies who were working to restore the island.

I was a little bit overwhelmed by the scale of it all and wasn’t sure how I could really help. It didn’t sit well with me to just do nothing, and I was used to being busy all the time - after the storm, everything really just stopped - as if someone had hit the reset button. I did some volunteer work with the Department of Tourism to help displaced tourists and also put together a fundraiser for the Animal Welfare center to help rebuild their business, which had been badly damaged and looted. What really occurred to me during this time was that people needed KINDNESS more than ever. Whether it was the scared tourists who had lived through this frightening storm in a place that was unfamiliar to them - with no idea how or when they would get home, or the families saying goodbye to one another as mothers and children boarded the mercy ship and said goodbye to fathers and other family members. The friends who had lost roofs and even homes and the hardworking business owners and restoration crews who were busy serving the community deserved lots of gratitude, support, and love. Everyone needed kindness, and that was something I could give.

This was the first time that the idea of BEING the light came to me, but I wasn’t using those words exactly yet. I made it my mission to be positive and happy and give hugs to everyone I knew when I saw them (particularly interesting with so many of us being without running water!). People after this storm really came together and were the light for one another. Our island community supported our neighbors and friends in such a pure, beautiful way. Sometimes I miss the crazy post-hurricane days simple for the pure goodness of people at that time. 

When I think of BEING the Light, I think of my favorite musician, Michael Franti (who I talk about in this blog post) and how his energy makes people happy, brings them together and reminds so many of us of the good in this crazy world. I think of the author, life coach and light worker Gabby Bernstein who talks often about “being the light”, and I go back to the time in my life where I realized that my own personal inner light had gone into hiding and it was time to bring it out into the world again.

A card from "The Universe Has Your Back" card deck by Gabby Bernstein

Difficult times, dark times, remind us of the light because, without the balance of darkness, we could not appreciate the light in the same way. The Sun Collection is a reminder to "be the light” and let your inner light shine, every day, in the small and the big ways. I may not be a Michael Franti or Gabby Bernstein, and you may be thinking you aren’t either, however we can all be the light. Practice kindness, smile at a stranger, do something generous for someone you don’t know, pay a good deed forward. The world needs our love, light, positivity, and kindness, and we can all contribute to bringing that light to the world.

Check out the Sun Collection here >> https://fantaseajewelry.com/collections/sun-collection

Find out more about Gabby Bernstein here >>  https://gabbybernstein.com/