Motivational Monday – A Lighthouse of Encouragement

 

Photo Credit: Independent Institute

A tower with a powerful light that gives a continuous or intermittent signal to navigators – that is the definition of a lighthouse. There was no lighthouse in sight on the steamy August night with the sky blanketed in darkness. No streetlights, no porch lights, only people walking with the flashlight from their phones to guide them. There was a blackout.

The week was going well in the gated community where no cars were allowed. It was my first time at the week-long writer’s workshop ten years ago. I met people that I now call friends. Our living quarters were historic homes that reminded me of a bed and breakfast. Some houses had wraparound porches, a picket fence, and a quaint living room.

It was past dinnertime when I settled in to read over my workshop notes. The bedside lamp silently went dark. I peeked out of my third-floor window; everything was pitch black. I stepped into the narrow hallway as the two other occupants of my floor did the same. We chatted a moment.

“There’s a power outage. I received a text saying there is electricity at a couple of buildings near the front of the community,” One woman shared.”

“Thanks, I may head that way.”

I grabbed my phone and a pillow and began my half mile journey toward the front of the quaint village. I’d never been in a blackout before; I took tentative, slow steps because I couldn’t see anything that was more than two feet in front of me. A lighthouse was needed to guide me in the right directions.

After walking a few blocks, I hear a voice near me, “It’s really dark out here, are you headed to the annex building?”

“Yes, let’s walk together.”

That was the day I met Mary Louise. We chatted about how much we were learning at the workshop. We learned about things we have in common, such as being directionally challenged.

“Do you think we can find our way out of the darkness and into the light?” We laughed, took baby steps, and followed others walking toward the well-lit, airconditioned building. We found encouragement in each other’s company. Throughout the rest of the workshop, we were like a child with a new best friend.

“Let’s sit together during lunch tomorrow,” Mary Louise said.

We shared mealtimes, met up after class sessions, and learned our way around the community (by the end of the week). I knew I had to pass the big yellow house with the lace curtains in the window, to get to my living quarters.

Mary Louise and I encouraged each other during the week, and we’ve kept in contact over the past ten years. She is now a published author. Her children’s book is TheWind Called My Name, by Mary Louise Sanchez.

Be a lighthouse of encouragement to someone. Let your powerful light shine wherever you go. You may be the inspiration someone needs at that moment.