Stars

I live on the top of one of the very beginning foothills of the Appalachians. It is the perfect place to look at stars, not a lot of houses, far enough away from Birmingham that the city lights don't steal the stars' glow. I love to look at stars. You see billions it seems when you look in the dark indigo

sky. Sometimes I look at the stars like I did on the way home tonight from band practice.

We are much like them. They are individuals shinning brightly, yet they are also connected, a part of the universe.

Each of those stars shimmer in the night sky. Each of us have that possibility of shimmering here on earth. We are so very different, yet still so much alike. Our life experiences shape us,

the people we meet, the places we go, our families and friends, our education, everything plays a role in our individual selves. Some of us shine at the beginning of our lives, we light up everything around us, and then as the years go by, we lose our light........maybe the dimness is slow, or maybe through trauma and loss the light goes out quickly. Others start as tiny little twinkles, and as we live our lives, we glow brighter and brighter. These are the ones, who fill their lives and hearts with love, who seem to vibrate at such a higher rate than the rest of us.

Some of us reflect more than others, our glow is a quiet reflection of the love around us. We are happy to bask in the light of those who surround us.

Then there are those who are like magnificent shooting stars, they outshine all the rest, and as they streak through life, they leave a trail of light that seems to go on forever. Those are such rarities, those people who light a room up when they enter, who seem to light up everyone's world. These are the stars, who are missed so much, when their light is gone.

It might be a far reach to compare yourselves with the stars, but it is not. Every day, somewhere, at some point, each of us has the potential to light up some one's life. With a kind word, a smile, an offer of friendship, a common courtesy, a moment of peacefulness, dark corners can be filled with light, those whose lives may have dimmed, your light can reflect on them and they too can shimmer again.

Tonight imagine how empty the night sky would be without all those stars twinkling in the heavens, then think about how empty some one's life could be, if you don't allow your light to shine. Your light could be the only light they can see, the only light that reaches them.

Allow your self to shine, allow human kindness to radiate from you and let it fill a void in someone's darkness.