At this time of year, most of us celebrate one or more  holidays…Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the New Year. These holidays, often celebrated with candles that brighten dark winter months, focus on love and life, family and tradition, unity, renewal, faith and hope.

As I look around the world right now, I see a desperate need for the spread of these values, and for people who will be torchbearers for them. Torchbearers never force change, they inspire it by lighting a path, similar to the role Olympic athletes play in carrying the torch to light the Olympic cauldron.

Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, was recently named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for being a torchbearer to catalyze environmental action. Emma González, an 18-year-old from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School became a torchbearer igniting awareness about the need  for revised gun laws. Their voices and activism inspired followers, as well as leaders, to take action.

The thing about a flame or a torch is its power to spread light… to make a difference. The room is still dark with only one candle lit, but spread the flame to others, and you see the power of one candle as the room becomes ablaze with light.

So as we step into this holiday season, I encourage each of us to discover the illuminating force of being a flame in the pursuit of kindness, justice and unity. Where you see darkness…in any corner…spread the values we celebrate during this season by letting your personal, internal flame shine forth. Step in and Be the Light!

My warmest wishes to you and yours for a Joyous, Healthy, and Light-filled Holiday Season!

Originally published in the December 19, 2019 issue of Beyond the Nest’s free weekly newsletter.