Be the Light!

A true and empowering tale...

Stuck on a crosstown bus in NYC during rush hour. Traffic moving at a snail's pace. The bus packed with shivering cold, exhausted commuters frustrated by life, and irritated by everyone and everything in the world. Two men yelled at each other about a shove that was intentional or not. None offered the pregnant woman a seat. Rage ran rampant: No mercy. Not a trace. Approaching Seventh Avenue, the bus driver announced: "Folks, I understand it's been a rough day and you are weary and frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here is what I can do." "As each of you get off the bus, I will reach out my hand. As you walk by, would you kindly drop your troubles into the palm of my hand?" "Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight; leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, where I will open the window and cast our troubles into the water." It was as if a magical spell parted the black sky and lifted the darkest clouds! The commuters burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight and hopeful eyes. People who had been ignoring other’s existence were suddenly grinning at one another with tilted heads wondering, "Is this guy serious?" Oh, the bus driver was committed to executing this promise . And at the next bus stop, the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited for each exiting commuter to gesture dropping their troubles into his palm. Some people gleefully laughed out loud while others became teary-eyed as they got rid of their burden. The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at each ensuing stop all the way to the river. We live in a relentlessly harsh and challenging world... Sometimes it is difficult to be a kind, caring and generous human being. Sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you have a bad day that lasts for several years. You struggle. You fail. You lose jobs, money, friends, love, and faith. You witness terrifying events or learn horrific news that makes you fearful, even withdrawn. Sometimes everything seems cloaked in darkness. You yearn for the light but don’t know where to find it. But what if YOU ARE the light? What if you are the very agent of illumination to disperse the darkness? This lesson teaches that anyone can be the light, at any moment. The bus driver wasn’t a power player, spiritual leader or social media-savvy influencer -- simply a bus driver, one of society’s most invisible workers, who possessed real power, and used it beautifully for other's benefit. When life feels especially grim, or you feel particularly powerless in the face of the world’s troubles, remember this story and ask, "What can I do in this moment to be the light?" Of course, one individual can’t personally end all wars, solve global warming, transform vexing people into entirely different creatures and control traffic. But you do have some influence on everyone you encounter, even if you remain silent. No matter who and where you are, how mundane or tough the situation may seem, believe that you can illuminate your world. In fact, this is the only way to illuminate the world, one bright act of grace and kindness at a time, all the way to the river.

-- an adaptation of

Elizabeth Gilbert's fable