Twinkle Lights. Or why I have Christmas lights up in my house all year.

"When we reach out and share ourselves--our fears, hopes, struggles, and joy--we create small sparks of connection.  Our shared vulnerability creates light in normally dark places.  My metaphor for this is twinkle lights (I keep them in my house year-round as a reminder).  
There's something magical about the idea of twinkle lights shining in dark and difficult places.  The lights are small, and a single light is not very special, but an entire strand of sparkling lights is sheer beauty.  It's the connectivity that makes them beautiful.  When it comes to vulnerability, connectivity means sharing our stories with people who have earned the right to hear them..."
                                                                                                   Brene Brown, Daring Greatly

(image from Internet)

I loved Brene Brown's story about twinkle lights.

I know sometimes I don't share my stories, or my "light" for various reasons.  Sometimes out of embarrassment, or fear, or sometimes because I don't even recognize the stories as important.  It's not something I'm proud of, it's just truth.

But I have found when I share my light and my stories, when I stay true to me, and embrace what I have to give the world, I feel more whole.  Brene calls it "wholehearted".  I live and love with my WHOLE heart.  And when I allow my light to shine, I in turn encourage others to do the same.  And though my light alone isn't strong enough to light the way, when we all combine our lights together, we change the world.