I can see her looking back at me. She is 5 years old, climbing a large rock while camping.

She has a Dorothy Hamill haircut, popular back in the late 70’s, with velour shorts on with white piping. Each and every time she climbs the rock or rides her bike during this trip she begs to be watched, beckoning for her light to be acknowledged.

My grandfather was a pastor—this meant going more to church than most. One of the songs from church I always come to think of goes like this:

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.”

When I look around at children around the age of 4-6, they often shine very brightly. They immediately say what comes to their head. They are constantly saying, “watch me (fill in the blank)” proud of each and every thing they do. They claim their accomplishments, try new things and don’t hide any part of themselves.

I was once like that.

Along the way, I got hurt, embarrassed, told it’s not okay to ________ or _________. The blanks could go on and on.

Society, families, and friends all began to tell me how or who I should be and because I often loved and respected these people, I began to believe them. I became a new version of myself. A much dimmer version. Until I one day had enough.

My soul had led me to midwifery, without the understanding of how detrimental it would be to my physical body—working through the nights, adrenaline rushes during births and often times I was not sleeping for 48 hours or more, only to come home and continue other work as a single mom, needing to care for my children.

My light was pretty dim.

I was physically and emotionally exhausted from giving my heart and soul to each and every client—without any time to nurture and take care of myself.

I realized it was holding me back, keeping me stuck and not allowing me to live up to my full potential. It kept me from chasing my dreams and living the life I imagined.

Enough was certainly enough. It was time to start shining my light again!

But how? How did I want to feel in my life?

How would I want life to be when I came home, when I was working, when I was with my family, friends and my love, when I was in nature, when I had free time?

Taking time to find my answers to these questions, I discovered pieces of myself I had left behind aeons of time ago. I came to acknowledge and share my accomplishments again. I saw my own value and place in the world. I started to let compliments and love into my heart and soul. I reclaimed my intuitiveness regardless of what anyone thought, because really what they think of me, is none of my business.

I started to live from my own truth.

I also left my career as a midwife to fully embrace my light as an intuitive guide.

Now I sleep every night. I laugh more. I love more fully and deeply.

When we embrace ourselves—we shine ever so brightly. When our own light shine, we notice the little flickers in others who need someone to show & shine them the way.

Grab your journal and ask yourself these questions—and shine:

1. In what ways do I make myself smaller than I am?

2. Do I claim all my accomplishments? If not, why not? If so, how?

3. Do I let others take credit for my work? If so, why? If not, why not?

It is not important to know exactly “why” but having an idea about the “why” is a good place to start.

Get clear on what is keeping your light dim so you can move forward and “let it shine”.

Use these habits to find your way in the dark:

Accept compliments with full gratitude.

This means don’t just say thank you because it’s what you are supposed to do, but really feel the compliment and allow that love to enter your body.

Own your accomplishments.

You have worked hard in your life to get where you are. You may have raised kind-hearted children or tackled a board room. They both have great purpose and use in this world. Own it. Acknowledge the hard work, sweat and tears it took to get here.

Track your gratitude.

When you are grateful for the lessons life has given you and the things you have in your life, the Universe wants to give you more of those things. When think about all the blessings in your life, you will likely have a smile on your face and I bet your light starts shining.

When making these habits a daily practice, it begins to peel away the things that have dimmed the light and hopefully you will find yourself singing:

This little big light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.

“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” ~ Maya Angelo.

Author: Nicole Marie

Editorial Apprentice: Cecilia Vinkel / Editor: Renee Picard

Photo: Flickr