Light a Candle

"It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." - Chinese Proverb

I saw this quote and it really spoke to me. Most of my life I've always seen the world in its worst light. Its hard not to. Everywhere you turn in papers, magazines, on TV screens the bad, the "dark", the negative is glorified. It is what is focused on. It's rather easy to become wrapped up in that way of thinking. To allow yourself to believe that nothing you do makes a difference. To fall prey to the "Why be nice when the world is filled with evil?" mentality. Lately I've been forcing myself to see the "Good" in things. It's not easy I must say. But its teaching me quite a bit. My interpretation of this quote is as such; I could sit here in my home watching the awful news and complain of how the world is filled with terrible things and horrible people OR I could step out and attempt to change those things for the better. Be a "Light" if you will in the midst of darkness. I do not have to compromise my integrity and lose myself in the shadows of darkness simply because it's what "everyone else" does. I have the ability to choose Kindness when faced with Anger; Understanding when faced with Opposition; Compassion when faced with the Unjust. I can choose to remain who I am NOT because others are the same, not even because they deserve it but because it's who I am inside. I realize I shouldn't let darkness diminish my Light but instead go out of my way to shine, and maybe....just maybe a spark from my flame will touch another and theirs another and before we know it, that dark world we stepped out into will glisten with a hope it didn't have before; a Light that once seemed impossible to see will now be a Light impossible to dim. That is how we create a positive change in a negative world. And I for one want to be a grand part of that change. I want to be one to say 'I didn't just "curse the darkness, I lit a candle"; I did something to brighten the world, and make it a better place.' - Written by Brianna Colleen Carey