“To be a star you must shine your own light,
follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness for that is when stars
shine brightest.”
This is not only a lesson for life, but it is
a lesson for anyone who has ever experienced challenging times. I am a believer of challenge. I am a believer of transformation, which
evolves from challenge as the greatest gift that you can receive from the
Universe.
I am a believer of all of this, because I have
walked through the storms, the fire (and yes twirled it) and would not be where
I am today without all of these challenges and the constant resurrection for
the purpose of something higher, greater and bigger than my own vision.
Shining through the darkness is something we
need to remember at every turn. It is
HERE we can be grateful for all that evolves from this and most importantly how
we can rise in the process.
While you may have had many challenges in your
life, I am here to be the messenger to ask you…
- · What have you learned?
- · How have you grown?
- · In what ways have you evolved?
- · Did you define or redefine your life because of your darkness?
The bigger question I ask you now is ARE YOU
CHOOSING TO STILL SHINE?
What we do not realize throughout our life in
the great art of learning patience, timing and the constant constellation of the
process within our BEING and EVOLVING.
However, it is here, where the most sparkling diamond
nuggets of life exist, though most people miss them. Hence why I am writing this blog – my gift to
you, so YOU DO NOT miss them.
The diamond mine is within. The light that shines exists within. But it is in our greatest challenging moments
we are reminded that we can keep that light shining and burning to enlighten us
within, rather than gravitating toward the dark negativity.
IT IS YOUR CHOICE. Read that again.
Now you may sit there from a place of
impatience and say, “But…”
I will gently and kindly shake my head, smile
and say… “Um… there is no but… there
just is this beautiful diamond mine within that you must continue to have
faith, trust and belief within, in order for you to continue shining your
light.
The key here is to not be stingy with your
light even if you sit in darkness.
I know, it sounds so gag-worthy, eh? Sit back, I have a more meaningful way to look
at this.
Fishing enthusiasts around the world
will always have a fish tale. Sometimes
their tale is about the one that got away, or it is about the largest one they
ever caught... Perhaps they saw Lockness
Monster or Big foot while on the lake. There is the old saying "Give a man
a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach
a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”
I have a tale, too. However, it is not about a fish, it is a tale
about a fish tail. In addition, it is
not just a tale of a tail, nor a tale of a whale (dang, that is so Dr.
Seussish, eh?), but a tale worth telling which taught me an interesting lesson
about life. YES, DEAR SOULS - I AM SHOWING YOU HOW TO FISH FOR YOUR OWN LIGHT by what I learned through mine!
For seven years of my life, I was a
baton twirler and marched in parades small (one mile) and large (five and a
half miles). These parades were kind of
like the mini-marathons for the baton twirling set. I was not part of a band. I was part of a team, which competed for all
kinds of championships, trophies, medals, and ribbons.
The biggest misconception about baton
twirlers is that we just spin a baton and make it look easy. Well, nothing in life is easy. Moreover, it is not as simple as one might
think. Much like martial arts and those
who practice it, there is a fine balance, which must be drawn between the body
and the instrument. While not all
martial arts use instruments as part of weaponry, as the body becomes the
weapon, baton twirlers in essence do not always use batons solely because bodies
become the instrument, doing the work and the baton becomes more of a prop.
Other times there are light saber
glow-in-the dark sticks, batons inside of hula hoops which you twirl and try
not to get stuck weaving in and out of in contortion, strangling your own neck.. In addition, sometimes there is fire… of course;
the object is to try not to be burned. It
does not matter what instrument you use, there must always be a 'centering of
the core' to keep the instrument in tune with what the body is doing, and this
is particularly so if your body is the instrument.
Sound masochistic? Perhaps, but aren’t most sports that we as
children play? I mean, come on…. Dodge ball is brutal. If you suck at racquetball, you can do some
major damage to the frontal lobe of that brain with a ricocheting whammy in
your noggin if you are not paying proper attention.
I was six years old, when I was 'fitted'
for my first baton. Yes, fitted. Your arm must be held out straight ahead as
the baton is rammed uncomfortably into your armpit and the tips of your fingers
cannot be 'too under or too over' or the baton is the incorrect size. As you grow, the baton size must change also,
and grow with you. This is of course,
much to the dismay of parents on a budget.
These are not the kind you find in toy stores, but ones you find in
music stores or through a main manufacturer/distributor and they are
professionally balanced and calibrated.
The first lesson you learn even before
twirling is the fine art of the balancing of the baton inside the adductor
pollicis muscle. This is that little
cradle spot between the thumb and forefinger.
If you can know the 'center' – you will have a better command of
handling the baton.
From figure eights to flat spins,
pinwheels, leg tosses, elbow and neck rolls and finger twirls…. The array of movement was never dull. It was exciting for me to feel the cold
smooth steel wand between each finger and when the baton reached the pinky, the
flip in the air around the hand, up and over – I felt like I was a superhero,
especially when I could catch it behind my back, or do a death drop aerial on
one foot. The baton and floor would
never meet when I was on my game. In
addition, when I was not, the baton let me know this was so.
Then… came the fish tail. What
is a fish tail? Imagine your hand put in
the position of telling someone to halt, stop… that little 'seat' on top of
your wrist is where you twirl the baton with NO HANDS!
What?
It is true. Twirling a baton with
NO HANDS… It was part of what was
required to escalate your ranking into the next level. Pretend your hand is a fish navigating
through water or a car swerving with your hand still in the halted position –
the baton is supposed to mimic the motion without falling. No fingers ever touch the baton; neither does
the inside of the hand. It is all in the
wrists.
Fish tails are one of the most difficult
tricks to do basically because if you twist your hand too fast or too slow or
move it too high or low, your wrist seat changes the position of the baton wand,
doomed to fall flat on the ground if you are not ‘balanced.’ If we examine life – the moment we try to
'control it' too much… it gets out of control.
It is like the world – try to control all aspects of it and mistakes are
made, power, corruption, greed, bleed in and it gets off kilter.
The same can be said for fish tails. The movement of fish tails reflects life
itself. However, I did not realize it at
the time…I was six. To me, it was just
twirling. The only thing I was conscious
of then was to 'duck' if I lost control of the baton so it didn't konk me on
the head; and steer clear of the twirlers who were all about their costume and
tiaras because chances are you will get side-swiped by a flying a baton right
in your eye. POW!
That was essential in championships and competition especially, but there is another issue -- too many are focused on the end result of the win, and not the process, which in itself is the journey and THAT IS THE LARGER VICTORY. THE PROCESS... THE PATIENCE WITHIN THE PROCESS.
That was essential in championships and competition especially, but there is another issue -- too many are focused on the end result of the win, and not the process, which in itself is the journey and THAT IS THE LARGER VICTORY. THE PROCESS... THE PATIENCE WITHIN THE PROCESS.
Here, you are faced to DEFINE what those
parameters of winning are, and at the time, the only important thing was to
SHINE. So DEFINE and SHINE is all you
can do, when there are hundreds of others competing against you. But your only REAL competition is yourself. So why not shine?
A true win is when you SHINE ANYWAY...not attached to the win. It is here you shine a light so others can see theirs and that is a win-win.
A true win is when you SHINE ANYWAY...not attached to the win. It is here you shine a light so others can see theirs and that is a win-win.
As a teen and young adult, later going on many
looksee-go-sees in modeling and commercial and voice auditions, this DEFINE and
SHINE served me well because it is constant rejection day in, day out,
sometimes four or five rejections a day.
This sounds like more masochism of ‘why the heck would you put yourself
in an hourly or daily rejection’ position, but I think it is a good tool for
learning life in many ways. There is no
real rat race unless you choose to participate in it.
- · THE TRUTH IS YOUR OWN PATH IS YOUR OWN PATH
- · YOUR OWN LIGHT IS REALLY THE ONLY REAL LIGHT THAT SHINES.
- · DARKNESS ALLOWS YOU TO SHINE BRIGHTER, NO MATTER WHAT.
It is the fish tail, which teaches us
something unique. It cannot really be
controlled. It just is.
There is no real 'why' or 'how' – and
you know 'where' it is happening. You do
not know 'when' the fish tail will lose its balance. However, you definitely know 'who' will pull
the tail off course. It is you. It is I.
It is anyone who tries to take over the fish tail's beauty of simply
being. If you allow it to flow and
develop its own natural rhythm, you can do fish tails until your arm gives out…
it will just keep going and going if you stay with the flow of the fish tail's
motion. There are really no tricks to it
other than allowing it to be and being steady, staying calm, being and being
open to being. It takes care of itself,
it stays in balance, and the movement is beautiful and continuous much like
life. You are not supposed to be 'doing'
anything, just be conscious, aware, appreciate, and respect. The fish tail will keep twirling.
There is great celebration and joy in
the free-flowing fish tail. You can be
fascinated by the spectacle of what appears to be a magic trick or appreciate
the fine art of letting the natural energy take over and merely just being
there to take the cue to guide and maintain.
Letting go and being free within the
freedom of something free-flowing is not only beautiful, but it's one of life's
best offerings, when you have faith that everything that happens is part of the
natural flow of what you are supposed to experience is for purpose.
We do not often take time to reflect
upon timing unless we appear to be late for something, rushed for something or
on deadline. However, we should not
really question it either. Trusting in
what the Universe delivers has our best interest at heart in the end. We just need to be aware and be present for
it.
The world keeps spinning. So do batons.
The tide still rises and falls. The
stars still shine in the sky.
It is in our GROUNDING and BALANCE we
can navigate life. There are no
competitions for trophies, ribbons, and medals.
If you march in your own parade, you will see the only one you are
really in competition with is yourself.
So while you are here, CONTINUE TO SHINE YOUR OWN LIGHT.
Nevertheless, life does not require us
to spin to keep up so we can live. It is
really quite the opposite.
We float, we balance. Twirling will happen on its own in its own
time, naturally and organically if we let it unfold, twist, turn, and repeat.
Life's beauty is here now for us to
enjoy if we stop spinning long enough to look at it and simply be in the moment
as it is happening.
The fish tail is in balance. It is my tale about a tail which everyday
people life’s fishing enthusiasts will never understand if they only focus on
size, catching, releasing, and the game.
Sometimes merely appreciating the sport
of living in the present provides us more skill to indeed fill our minds, hearts,
and souls for a lifetime.
Moreover, when you SHINE BRIGHTLY
ANYWAY, there is great beauty in that because you catch what you are meant to
catch to enjoy and flourish within your own journey.
Namaste.
