Are You a Lighthouse or Shadow Builder?

Look below:

I snapped this image of a light house during my 3 weeks in Kovalam, India. My wife and I visited Kovalam Beach for a peaceful stay in the jungle. The positioning of the light house is obvious. Imagine boaters coming too close to those unforgiving rocks?

As surfers played in the sea, I fondly recall my blissful time in Kovalam. I began our trip as sick as a dog. But slowly and surely, I recovered, enjoying the jungle climate, bright sun and beautiful beach not too far from the Southern tip of India.

I can still see the palm trees swaying in the breeze. Ahhh….fond memories.

Kovalam is a happy place. More than any place I visited, Kovalam reminded me of Bali. From the natural beauty of Kerala – God's Country, as it is known, to Indians – to the friendliness of the locals who chatted you up, the seaside town warmed my heart.

Do you feel horrible after reading these words? Do you feel terrible after observing my recount of Kovalam Times? I bet you feel good, right? I intend to be a lighthouse in all I do. I want to be a bright, shining light of good-feeling love in the world.

But unfortunately, much of humanity seems to be shadow builders, spreading their fears, anxieties and negative energies day by day. Even more unfortunately, shadow binders seem to be running the worldly show, using fear to manipulate the masses.

Everything changes if you own your place in the world now and decide to be a lighthouse over being a shadow builder. Like the lighthouse in the photo above, you can be a beacon of hope, love, possibility and promise. You can spread good vibes. You can see through the illusion of fear to only observe the reality of love in all you do.

But the starting point is mastering your mind because most have no clue they are shadow builders, believing it quite normal to be afraid, negative and to spread negativity through their day to day thoughts, feelings and actions.

I removed a huge shadow from my being about a 15 minute walk from that photo. I almost left my mortal coil after suffering through severe illness in India but decided to stick around for a while. Facing, feeling and releasing the fear of death – partially at least – made me lighter, brighter and more serene in all I did. I could be more of a lighthouse because I left behind deep shadows plaguing me and my being, those shadows consisting of fears I refused to face for decades of my life.

Face your fears. Own your shadows to release the fears fueling the shadows. Be a lighthouse. Be a beacon of light, hope and possibility amid the illusion of storms. Picture a horrific tempest on the seas. A lighthouse can illuminate the path to safety in any stormy conditions. Be that light. Do things with love. Show people the way.

We can use more lighthouses in the world.