Light is a real tonic, isn’t it, especially as now when the days are short and often dark? The world of humanity seems to be in something of a dark place at the moment. We need some light, some joy and something to look forward to.

Light up an ostrich today!

Ostriches are extraordinary birds. They are reputed (wrongly) to hide their heads in the sand when trouble approaches.

I know a number of people, and you probably do, too, who refuse to read newspapers or watch or listen to news on television or radio. There is merit in that because what we are served up as a picture of reality in the media largely focuses on what is wrong. Apart from being negative in nature, there is the added factor of news manipulation, so we don’t even know if it is correct anyway.

So we can probably agree that news bulletins are generally neither very bright nor uplifting. But if we only want good news or none, and choose to ignore the existence of human suffering, maybe we too have become an ostrich.

We become what we digest – in the mind as well as the body

The old adage is “we are what we eat”. We know that what we take in as food and drink affects the body. It’s not just what we swallow, either. What we breathe affects us, as statistics on poor air quality and health clearly show.

But in many respects, the mind is more important than the body because it dictates everything we say or do. It is responsible for everything we think and all that we make of our world. The mind largely governs our feelings and our moods – it controls our life. It needs light.

The media is an aspect of our environment

Environment is much more than our physical surroundings. Our mental environment is just as important. If we keep taking in information that is predominantly negative, there is a danger that we could become gloomy, too. At the very least, it will sap our energy.

Positive people carriers of light?

Positive people tend to uplift us. They create a light environment. They may be a pain at times, too, but usually only because their lightness and cheerfulness accentuate our shadows.

Everyone has light within them. The difference between a positive person and a negative one is how that light manifests. The former carries light and passes it on. The latter chooses not to.

There is more light than dark

The world is not Trump, Putin, Brexit, the NHS or anything else. The world is as we are – as we perceive it. If we look around, there is far more goodness being done by ordinary people than there is bad. By making a habit of seeing that, we create a positive mental environment for ourselves which affects those around us. Our words and behaviour reflect increasing amounts of light. Isn’t that why we are here? Happy new year!

More on social responsibility and the need for love in society can be found in Awakening Heart: The Blissful Path to Self-Realisation. If you fancy a long read, I recommend Matthieu Ricard’s Altruism.