The Lighthouse Keeper

a lighthouse keeper

alone above the dark seas

sighs, guards the beacon.

The lighthouse is an excellent metaphor for how we should approach the issue of influencing the world around us toward a better end. The lighthouse is our self. It needs to be well maintained and properly constituted so that the light that shines from it is strong, pure and coherent. But what is most important is the fact that we project to the world what is best of ourselves and in such a way that it is seen and received in a manner the watcher can accept as his own. Like a boat at sea upon a dark night, the observer needs to use that light as they see fit, or not at all. Influence is a very dangerous thing. To maniputate and bully is to emasculate those being influenced rather than giving them the inspiration to make the journey for themselves. We all have to step softly in the public arena. To be a catalyst that signals and nurtures another beacon in another lighthouse is the best we can do. Then they have to tend to their own fire and light their own way in the world.

Keep the fuel stoked and the flame clean. Wipe the windows clear, maintain a silence in the tower. For the epiphany will come unannounced and unbidden, an ineffable moment. And come it will, to those prepared.