Lighting Candles

During most of my career as an insurance agent I was fortunate to have a district manager, Dave, who really cared about people. He was always trying to make other’s lives better. He understood that life was lived from the inside out and worked to be a positive influence. One of his favorite sayings was, “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” John Wooden, the fantastic basketball coach for UCLA in the 1960s and 70s said it another way. “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

One of my favorite books is Lee Jampolsky’s Smile for No Good Reason. In it he takes this idea even further saying “Over the years I have been blessed with friends in my life who have demonstrated the power of asking ‘What can I do that is positive?’ instead of, ‘Who is to blame for this?’ They asked this in difficult times, not just when it was convenient to do so.”

I have such a friend. His name is Jim. He’s eighty and one of the busiest people I know. He is involved in a variety of projects to make the world a better place. He is also a seven on the enneagram, which means he likes to have a good time. He always believes in having dessert and laughs a lot. At Christmas besides having a regular tree, just for fun, they also have a Star Trek tree. That is so fitting because I think of him when I watch my favorite scene from the movie Star Trek Generations. My friend Jim, just like Jim Kirk,  wants to make a difference and has fun doing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8_oqgPwHfI

I have found, like the two Jims, that trying my best to make a difference makes life more fun. It gives it purpose instead of just going through the motions of living by chasing what I want all the time. There are a lot of tough things going on in the world right now. That’s one way to look at it. Another is that there are more opportunities to light candles. That’s more fun than cursing the darkness.

May you have enough today, one moment at a time.