Let Your Light Shine
It is our uniqueness that powers the light within.
The truer we are to our gifts, the brighter our light shines.
-The Miracle Collectors
June 25, 2023
As summer takes hold, we hope you are noticing the miracles in nature so abundant this time of year - it's one way to connect with your soul. As Katie writes in this month’s blog, connecting to and honoring your own light leads to a fulfilling life. Here’s to celebrating the light within each of us.
Collecting Miracle Moments One Story at a Time.
Joan and Katie
Advice from the dying seems like it might elicit a treasure trove of wisdom. There’s no holding back and nothing to lose with only weeks to live. Bronnie Ware understood this, as she had spent years as a palliative care nurse, and decided to capture these insights in the form of their biggest regrets. Not surprisingly, no one wished they’d worked harder or longer, drove a fancier car, won the contest for being the busiest, or cared more about what others thought of them. Their number one regret was lacking the courage to live a life true to themselves. Women in particular, as peacemakers, and averse to confrontation, tend to side step or minimize their opinions and responses, thereby minimizing their light and their worth. It’s been a lifelong challenge for me, one that I am wiser for having identified and worked on improving. Like Marianne Williamson said, “…your playing small does not serve the world…we are all meant to shine.” But still, easier said than done!
All the more remarkable to read about a little boy named Logan who knew from a young age that he wanted to be exactly like Christian McCaffrey when he grew up. A star running back, first at Stanford, then at the Carolina Panthers, McCaffrey would eventually make his way to the 49ers, as young Logan predicted would be the right fit. (This is also why the story crossed my path since I’ve been a diehard 49er fan for 50 years.) In addition to acting and being an expert in taekwondo, Logan played football and the piano just like McCaffrey. He re-watched tapes of McCaffrey’s games and moves because he loved to watch him and it helped improve his own game. Eventually, his dad and he began to fly around the country to attend McCaffrey’s games in person with the acting money that Logan had earned. By the time Logan was diagnosed at age eleven with a rare and ultimately fatal cancer, he had certainly been true to himself. When Christian McCaffrey heard about Logan’s passionate fan following he helped Logan leave quite a legacy behind.
Seeing how long kids in the cancer ward had to wait for a turn with the video game systems (he had his own but didn’t like that others did not), Logan had begun an email campaign to try and buy them in bulk. After his death, the Christian McCaffrey Foundation created The Logan Project to provide access to gaming systems for children’s wards across the country, while also connecting these kids with athletes they admire. Quite a miraculous ripple effect for a thirteen year old.
I am inspired by Logan’s pureness of being. Though unique in his single-minded passion and many talents for his age, like most children he had not yet learned to place limitations on what he could do or dream, or fear what others might think of him. By the time most of us are adults we’re a bit jaded and more careful, and our choices more complicated because they involve others. But it’s (almost) never too late to find the courage to let our own light shine, to dream a new dream, and arrive to the best of our ability in our final hours with few regrets. As J. Greenleaf Whittier said, "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: “It might have been!" (Katie)
https://christianmccaffreyfoundation.org/the-logan-project