Your light 

Magpies steal things that sparkle. People, envy other people, whose light sparkles. Having light can make you a target of envy, bullying, attempts to undermine your self esteem and your sense of who you are. Sparkling with light is something you can’t manufacture or force. You can’t find how to do it on YouTube, and you can’t buy a product on Amazon to make your lights come on. It’s something that is as magical and essentially you as the colour of your eyes. 

It doesn’t mean you are an extravert, or loud, or popular. It means there is an element of your being that just hums and jumps up and down with positive, creative, hopeful, forward looking energy. It means once in a while, you feel like a leader; not because you are ambitious or powerful or outspoken, but because you are drawn into an issue that you burn to make a point about, that you care so much about that you just can’t keep quiet or keep still. It means that you have images in your mind – big, extraordinary, outlandish, delicate, and very specific images. Images of how to decorate your space, how to wear your hair, how to achieve social justice, what a non binary world would look like, what you will find around the next corner, images of what others think and feel, images of yourself (good and bad ones), images of the world and the future (good and bad). 

People with light, are gifts to the world, and add so much joy and hope wherever they go. But like any light – like the light on your mobile phone screen at the movies – it is impossible to hide and can make others mad. That light in the dark room annoys people because it reminds them that there’s more going on than what’s right in front of their nose. It reminds them that they might be missing out on something. It reminds them that there are people constantly connecting and that they may be missing out on those opportunities. Your beautiful, spectacular light, will annoy a lot of people. It will make you a target for bitchiness, bullying and outright sabotage. It’s important you know this will happen. And it’s important you know that no matter how much they attack, that light cannot be diminished or put out. Like the colour of your eyes it stays with you, unchanging, constant, no matter what. 

The hardest time in your life to have a light is probably between 14 and 24. That’s a long time but you can find other light folks to help and support you to maybe lessen the length of that time. Your teens are hard because teenagers compare and try to measure up to each other. Your peers will quickly realise that there’s nothing they can do to measure up to your light and they will start to envy you. This will turn into a bitter backstabbing frenemy type relationship. Your twenties could be good, if you manage to ditch the frenemy and pair up with someone else who has lots of light. If you don’t, your twenties will be easier than the teens but you will still face constant attempts from random people who feel they need to try to put your light out. Find a friend who understands and who has fought similar battles. Support each other, spend time being joyful and silly and have get-togethers where all of your spectacular light can pour into the room in laughter, creativity and silliness. Go on adventures with these friends, go for drives, walks, hikes, days out to new places. These friends will sustain you in your twenties and help you buffer the envy of those with no light. 

Things get much much better in your thirties. You will have enough self awareness to recognise and love and appreciate your light. You will have met lots of other people with light and you will know how to avoid, or at least diminish the impact of those envious people. You will meet younger people, in their teens and you will recognise their light. You can start to mentor them and help them learn the gift and burden of their light. Your light finds direction in finding meaningful work and freedom in the adult world, that is free from the restrictions of educational institutions and peer pressure. You will feel like a magician, like you are filled with magic and you just make things happen. You’re not magic. You are just filled with sparkle and light and positivity. Your world will bend and flow in line with your creativity, compassion and compulsion to follow and create good energy. 

When people tell you others bully you because they are jealous. They don’t mean that they are jealous of your hair, or your jeans, or your good teeth. They mean that they are jealous of your light. Hold onto your light, the world depends on it.