Shine – definition: to send out or reflect light; to point, a light in a particular direction.

In a world that says -  Be yourself! Do you boo boo! Don’t care what the haters think! The reality is that oftentimes if you dare to let your personal light shine out there in the dark wilderness the response you REALLY get is…Why are you so weird? Why can’t you be normal? No one does it THAT! Why don’t you try to fit in? And that light, that shine, dims and the brilliance that is you is shaded so that you don’t offend the world around you. And just like covering a candle with a jar, the light can eventually find itself extinguished. It takes guts to shine. It takes guts to send a piece of yourself out into the world. As artists, writers, and people in general we give pieces of ourselves away every day. We wait and watch to see if that small piece is cherished or discarded. But to find the strength to shine without caring one way or the other what the recipients of that light think takes guts and not a small measure of strength. Be you.  Be the you that you want to be. Be the you that makes you happy.  Be the you that beings joy and strength and understanding and kindness and honesty to your world. Shine, shine out that light that is your true essence into the darkness, and make it warm and inviting. Shine.