Let Your Light Shine....

I was raised in a Catholic household, Irish and Polish heritage made it near impossible for us to be anything else.  When we were young, our Irish Mother insured that we went to church every Sunday and of course, all the important Holidays. As a child I vaguely remember our Father joining us, but mostly the memories of Church revolved around time spent with our Mother. 

As a child, what I remembered most about Church was not the service, but instead the fact that we got to always dress up in our "Sunday Best" and we got to wear the pretty lacey scarves to cover our heads!  Yes, it's was the 60's, and at that time, in the Catholic Church, women (and girls) had to cover their heads.  I loved those lace scarves...they made me feel as pretty as a bride!  So you can imagine how truly excited I was to reach the age of "making my First Communion"...I was finally able to look like a bride! Life was good! LoL 

Despite the fact that, in those early years I was more focused on the finery that the ladies of the congregation wore verses the scripture, I actually did manage to pick up some of the lessons taught.  I proudly recited the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary", and to this day, you'll still hear me say them in moments of fear, sadness or stress.  I trusted completely in the existence of God, even thought I learned that my Father wasn't sure there was a God. 

I learned of Jesus and his being "The Reason for The Season" and of Easter, and I just "knew" that he was a Gift from God.  Not once did I question the idea of a Virgin Birth (once I understood what it meant) or of the Resurrection.  Somewhere in those early years of going to Church with Mom and my sisters, I learned about, and developed, Faith. 

Not to say there weren't times I didn't know what I believed.  When I was 12 and I was given the opportunity to stop going to Religion classes and Church, I took it.  Though that probably had more to do with wanting to sleep in on Sundays, then what I believed about God.  Then as I hit my 20's, there were moments when I didn't know if I still believed in God...when difficulties came, I felt alone, and if there were a God, how could that be?  So I waivered. 

My true acceptance of Gods existence came when I was 28.  I was pregnant with my daughter.  The Miracle of those nine months gave me 100% certainty that God existed.  Ask anyone who has carried a child and they will tell you of the Miracle of Life...That Miracle confirmed to me what I knew as a child, there is a Creator, a Source of all Life, and to me, that Source is who I call God.

Now I am not saying that my understanding of "God" is perfect, as it is based more so on what I feel verses what the Catholic Church taught me.  Though my belief is based on what a Nun told me when I was 7 years old.   In Religion class, I asked the Nun "Where is God?"  Her answer was simple, "God is in everything and everyone".  In that moment, I completely understood the truth of that statement.  It is something I just knew to be true. 

Years later, as my Gifts blossomed, my understanding of the Source of ALL Creation was solidified.  Though I grew up in the Catholic Church, I am no longer affiliated with any Church.  I would call myself Spiritual. I absolutely know that we are all connected by one Source, one Energy, one Light.  That Light is our Life Force and it exists within all of us. I call that Light, God.   The trick to Living Life Happy, begins by connecting to that Light within ourselves.  Once you can connect to that Light you can begin to live Your best Life.  In living your best life, you are allowing your Light to illuminate the Path for another so Let Your Light Shine!

By shining one's Light, one can have a positive influence on the Life of others.  When we live within the Light, we can have a positive influence on our own Life.  When we see ourselves through the Universal Light, the Source of all Light, as God see's us, we can finally be kind...first to others, and then to ourselves.  Believe me, Kindness matters!