It’s a gorgeous day today in Central Oregon as I sit to write. Perfect temperature; slight breeze; bird singing their little hearts out in the distance. This is a day to take it all in and shine. Are you shining? This brings me to the topic of my blog today, SHINE!

There is a powerful and beautiful song by Pat Benetar (link below) called ‘Shine’. It speaks of shining beyond and in the midst of our difficulties. A few lines from the song that impacted me are:

We are unstoppable

Cause everyday there’s something to survive

And yes, it’s unbelievable

When there’s nothing left to hurt inside

And we’ll shine, yes we’ll shine

We will shine, we will shine

We are invincible

Hand in hand, unrelenting groove

Free and so beautiful

This is what we were born to do

And we’ll shine, yes we’ll shine

We will shine, we will shine

Yes, everyday there is something to survive, isn’t there? There comes a point in our lives after many trying times that there is nothing left to hurt inside. I feel that is true for me. When life has hurt so much and so often that you can look anything in the eye and no longer have pain. That doesn’t mean you don’t feel, it simply means you are learning how to shine through it. It sounds unbelievable and I know how that feels also. You wonder if you have lost the ability to suffer. But you have gained the ability to rise and be unrelenting.

She speaks of hand in hand which means we need to reach out to each other. A few more lines:

Truth is the answer love is the reason

Fairness, respect, liberty, freedom

Tireless defenders standing together

Unthinkable beauty surrounding our dreams

The call of the wild pouring into the streets

Emotional freedom means more than you think

Yes emotional freedom means so much. Standing together and holding each other up is the way. In a long journey through my life, I have found others are there for us and people there to help me go for my dreams. Truth is the answer and love is the reason. Saying ‘never give up’ sounds like a cliche’ but it’s not. It’s something to hold onto. Life is beautiful and fun if we let ourselves embrace each moment.

Never go back; only go forward. Be true to yourself and be the you you were created to be. Jump in the water, float down the river, fly above the birds and soar like there’s no tomorrow. If you need a hand up out of the mire, reach out. I promise there are those willing to help and ready to be the wind beneath your wings (yes another song reference). We all need each other so be there for someone that reaches out to you as well.

This my friends is how we can ‘SHINE’ when we shine together. Choose to see the best in others and the best in life. To use an overused phrase these days, ‘flip the script’ and see the sunny side of life.