A lesson from a lighthouse

When life feels like a storm, a lighthouse can teach us a lesson.

A few days ago, I went on a hike with my husband. Huge clouds covered the sky like a heavy blanket, and the wind blew mercilessly. The ocean was stormy, and gigantic waves crashed on the rocky shore. Somewhere in the distance, a lonely light was coming from a lighthouse, a ray of hope and a promise of safety for those who found themselves in the middle of the storm.

I looked at the flickering light and thought that this tiny lighthouse can’t stop the storm, but it’s not his responsibility nor in his power to do that. His job is to survive the waves that try to crush him and to keep the light shining day after day, no matter what. I thought that all these years, I expected myself to stop the storm and felt guilt for being unable to control the uncontrollable. I started to feel constant fear that something would go wrong, something bad would happen any minute, and I must prevent it from happening. This anxiety has been draining all my energy and not letting me enjoy the good moments I had. 

As I kept walking by the ocean that day, I realized that I was a lighthouse that was trying to stop the storm, when I needed to survive it and keep the light shining. The light that helps those battling the storm, the light that gives hope to those waiting for rescue, the light that guides those lost in the storm to land. My light is the words that give hope, inspire, and connect people. My light is translation work that gives voice to those who need to be heard. My light is activism and fundraising campaigns that unite people and let them do extraordinary things together that none of us would achieve individually. My light can’t stop the storm, but it doesn’t have to. That day, I was reminded of what I forgot in the whirlwind of stress and worry: keep doing what I can, play my part, and keep going and shining the light, day after day. A tiny lighthouse taught me a big lesson.

I want you to pause for a moment and think about what you can’t change and need to accept. What is something you feel responsible for but, in reality, have no power over? Also, what can you control, change, and influence, and how can you do that? What is your light?

I will finish with a poem I wrote last month:

Ocean

Every day, when I think
that I’m just a drop in the ocean,
When I feel small, powerless, and weak,
I tell myself 
that I’m a drop in the ocean 
because I’m part of it —
Huge, powerful, and strong.
I remind myself
that the ocean is me.

Warmly,

Darya

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