How are you hiding your light?
There is a song we used to sing as children called “ This Little Light of Mine” .
The first verse says:
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
And the second verse…
Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I’m going to let it shine!
Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I’m going to let it shine,
Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
But, of course, we do hide our light under a bushel even when we say and believe that we’re committed to shining our light in the world, to making a contribution and to putting our work out there. That’s exactly what we sometimes do: we hide. We hide when we’re tired. We hide when we’re afraid, and we hide when we’ve been criticized or don’t feel our work is appreciated.
Where do you hide?
Here is what hiding sometimes looks like:
- Urgent tasks unrelated to your contribution. If we don’t have them, we sometimes create them.
- Perfection – “I can’t put it out there until it’s perfect,” we might say, “and until I know it will always be perfect.”
- Other useful work – useful perhaps, but not if it’s not your light, you may be hiding.
- Acting as if we don’t know how to take the next step. (this is a big one for me!)
- Resistance to choosingour light or trying to shine too many lights at once.
- Procrastination – aka fear.
This list is just the beginning and only you know for sure where and how you hide. The thing is, once you identify your bushels, only then can you can make conscious and intentional choices to eliminate or minimize those hiding places so your light can shine brightly in the world.
Be encouraged and let your light shine!