On the sidewalk in the early morning light, Craig explains what it means to “do the light thing.”
It means 5 things actually: positive, transparent, divine, low-impact, and don’t take yourself too seriously!
When you “do what’s light” it can really help your group. And you.
Here’s what Craig says in the video
Hey everybody, Hey good morning it’s Craig Freshley here. The sun is rising on my hometown and I want to tell you what I mean by “do what’s light.”
It’s kind of like, do what’s right. And the thing is that when we do what’s light, that’s usually the right thing to do.
Here’s what I mean. So first of all light is positive right? Dark is negative. Light is good, dark is bad. When we are doing the light thing, we have a positive attitude. We are thinking about all the good things that could happen rather than just the bad things. We are looking for the best in other people rather than the worst in other people. We are grateful for all the things that we have rather than angry or resentful about the things that we don’t have.
When we do the light thing, we are transparent, we bring things out into the open. We’re not keeping secrets or withholding information to get the upper hand or manipulate other people. We share freely and bring out into the light everything that we know.
When we are doing what’s light, we are also doing what is morally or ethically right. The Quakers have a phrase, “There is the light of God in every person.” Now I don’t care how you define God. You can think of God however you want; that doesn’t matter. But the concept is: whatever that is, there’s a little bit of it in every person. So when I am doing the light thing, I am thinking about what does the light within me want me to do? And I am always open to the light in other people.
Here’s another way to look at it, completely different. Light is the opposite of heavy. Sometimes I can be a burden on other people. I can be a burden on the earth. When I am doing what’s light I am treading lightly on the earth. I’m picking up after myself,I take only what I need. I am minimizing my negative impacts both on the environment and on the people around me.
And there’s even another way to think of doing what’s a light, and that is that being light is the opposite of being serious. I can take myself so seriously. I can think of myself as so important and such a big deal. But you know what, I’m here to remind myself to lighten up. I don’t need to take myself so seriously. When I am doing what’s light, I am being humble. I’m remembering that this too shall pass, and that there are no big deals. Lighten up!
Look when I was a kid in the 60’s and 70’s we had a phrase; we used to say, “Right on!” Well today I’m here to say, “Light on.”
Here’s another way to do what’s light: let go of baggage you are carrying around! Let go of burdens of guilt or resentment. Make apologies, make amends, make peace. Say or do what you need to in order to move forward with a clear conscience.
I am very grateful to a fan for raising this additional meaning of “do what’s light.”
It reminds me of the story of Two Monks and a Woman at a River:
A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current.
As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side.
The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman.
Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his journey.
The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them. Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”
The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”
What are your additional ideas or stories about how to do what’s light?