The light was very beautiful the other morning, and I was able to catch it as it woke up some moss on our path. The closer I got the more the light brought out the amazing shades of green. It also highlighted all the weeds, the twigs, the random acorns and dead leaves strewn about. You can see the wild strawberries peeping out and slowly stretching across the moss. The light put on an incredible show, then moved on to get the day in full bloom.
After taking this photo, I felt a little bit guilty. It showed me all the weeds I needed to pull and the dead leaves I needed to clean up around our property. I felt guilty because I did not intend to do any of that. There were other things I wanted to do, so the chores would have to wait. I was forgoing the things I should have been doing for the things I wanted to do. Strange how the word ‘should’ brings with it an array of feelings- excitement, pensiveness, and guilt. When it is our ‘should’ we can move it any way we want. When it is someone else telling us ‘should’ it can come across as them telling us what to do. And no one likes being told what to do.
The light does not discriminate, it shares it’s life giving elements with everything. It highlights the things we want to do, the things we should do, and the things we forgot to do. The light shows everyone all the elements of our lives, whether we like it or not. Which is a great reminder that people see all of our selves, not just the parts we want them to see. They see us weeds and all. They see who we are, who we want to be, and who we are becoming. They also bring with them expectations of who we should be…it’s those darn shoulds again. The key is to be yourself , know who you are – weeds and all – and learn how to manage your shoulds.