Reaching for the Light

We spend our lives reaching for the light in any form that comes our way. Most of us are naturally attracted to the brighter things in life. If we want to reach for a goal it involves some kind of struggle to move ourselves out of the darkness. We recognise that light brings us to a happier place.

However it is not as simple as just reaching for our goal, there are some challenges we have to overcome. Our attachment to the gold and silver things in life, keep us chained up. We are held down to this physical life by all the things we think are important here. They distract us from the light. While we do need things like a house, some transport, food and things for our work, we shouldn’t become too attached to them. It is our attachment to things which chain us to this world.

Keep in mind two things. Firstly, most of us are unlikely to get beyond the age of 100. This is one of many lives we have had in this physical world and it will end at some point. Secondly, the world conspires to distract us from reaching for the spiritual side of life. The physical world does all it can to convince us that there is no existence beyond this world.

Things are just temporary
When we die our attention moves to our inner spiritual world. We leave all our physical goods behind. They do not belong there. No matter how attached we are to them, they cannot come with us, so it makes sense not to get too attached to them. They are there to help us get experiences and gain some wisdom while we are here.

In recent times we have seen the value of our physical goods, be they houses, jobs, pensions, money, shares, etc. all fall in value. It is a good reminder that these things are just temporary. We only have them for a short time while we are alive here in the physical life. As soon as we die we leave them all behind. We are really just care takers of whatever we possess. We cannot take any of our physical possessions with us into the inner worlds when we die.

Love Continues
However we do hold on to our experiences, our learning, our wisdom, our relationships and our love for the Souls in our world. Many people have spoken of meeting their loved ones, who have died, in their dreams. Many who have had near death experiences have spoken of meeting relatives and friends at the time when they were out of their physical body. The love we have for other Souls continues in our inner life. Love is an inner feeling, a spiritual quality which brightens our worlds both here in the physical and in our inner spiritual worlds.

Attention on the Light
We can break free of the attachments that chain us. If we put our attention on the goodness and the love in our lives, we begin to see what is of lasting importance. We must make the effort to find and reach for the light. Reading an article like this gives us some knowledge and insight into the idea of an inner light and our spiritual world but we must make an effort to move towards the goal if we wish to progress to a happier place.

This effort could take the form of turning up our awareness of the light in our lives. Watching for blessings during the day, indeed seeing everything, good and bad, as a blessing of some sort, will help us see the light. Taking time to appreciate our lives just by spending a little time thinking about what we appreciate about our lives. Letting our love flow to our friends and family. Doing things just for the love of it and the benefit of others. These and any other technique which brings a little love into our lives can help us reach our goal.

This picture
I created this picture to show that we can break free of the cage of gold and silver we are in. While it is a struggle, it is possible. We can reach the light. For most of us it is an inner light. We see it in love, kindness, happiness, charity, beauty and generosity of spirit. The gold and silver of this world promise to solve our problems and challenges but when we get them we find that we still have our problems. If we become attached to them, they create a prison for us.

If we can reach for the light and bring some of it into our lives, we will find insights and happiness. While we will still have problems, we have a better understanding of them and can possibly see some benefits to them. Love is the key to unlocking the chains that bind us to the things in life. If we can give love, share our love and recognise the love in our lives, we will be released from the attachments that chain us and liberated into the light.

Wishing you love and happiness while you are reaching for the light.

*Ed Parkinson

If you’d like to reach for more of the light and wisdom from within, click here to go to the Spiritual Writings page.