May I be the love that is missing in the world

I receive daily short meditations from #MarianneWilliamson and this one in particular caught my attention. I thought it would be a great one to share with you here.

"May I be the love that is missing in the world

There is a way of being in the world that transcends the world, a way of being regular people and miracle-workers at the same time. [...] We are here because we have a mission: to be the love that is missing in this world, and thus reclaim a darkened world for light."

I know some people have a reaction to the word love. Love is not accepted in many cultures especially in the corporate world. From a young age we are taught to keep our emotions under check and to not show too much love as it may be perceived as a weakness.

I've been working with leaders for 17 years now and I have found time and time again that it is the leaders who have an open heart, are at peace with themselves and are not afraid to show love who are the most successful at building thriving teams and flourishing organizations.

Becoming the love that is missing in the world starts with loving yourself. This means loving every part of you no matter how dark or ugly you think it is. It means diving deep into your fears and your trauma and shining the light on those shadow parts of you that you try so hard to hide away from. In the Tao it is written that "The journey of a thousand miles begins at the bottom of your feet". This is the soul's journey and we always keep walking. The truth is that there is no destination, it is the journey that matters as it unfolds moment to moment to moment. We just need to be present to it.

Sometimes you can walk this path alone but there will be many times where you need all the help you can get from your angels in heaven and on earth. Angels on earth can manifest as a therapist who helps you unlock your deepest fears, a coach who helps you find a better way, an energy worker, a healer, a spiritual teacher, your partner or even your child.

The key to unlocking the heart is being open to receiving life's lessons in every form no matter how they are delivered. One of the spiritual teachers I started following recently, Patrick Connor, says that we can view everything in life as a blessing. Some blessings are joyful and easy to receive, others are painful; but when we choose to see them as blessings instead of obstacles, that's when the heart starts to open up to the light. He goes further by explaining that there are two joys:

• The joy of things going our way, which is easy to feel
• The joy of meeting our own conditioning and being with what was previously fearful

Let's sit with this for a moment. Can I invite you to connect to your heart right now? Place your hand on your heart and if you feel comfortable doing so just close your eyes and be with your breath and your heartbeat for a couple of minutes. What does your heart tell you it needs right now to open up a little bit more? How can you let more light in and spread more love?

The heart can do anything and it's desperately needed here at this time. This is our chance to let our light shine in a world that is so easily defined by its darkness.

I will leave you with this poem by Marianne Williamson which touched me many years ago and still hangs in my office as a daily reminder.

It is entitled Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves

Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be!

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,

We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

May you anchor yourself in the presence of your heart and liberate yourself from your fear.

May you be the love and the light that are missing in the world today!