"In our lives, we can either be a reflection of the world around us . . . or a beam that enlightens the lives of others."

– Bill Crawford

These words came to me recently after going to see the move "K-PAX" with Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. For those of you who have yet to see the film, the plot revolves around a character that is arrested after he tells police that he is visiting from another planet. He is subsequently taken to a mental hospital where he is treated as a delusional. What is wonderful about the movie is how the character touches the lives of those whom he encounters. Rather than becoming a reflection of the fear, pain, and confusion of his environment, Prot (the name of the character played by Kevin Spacey) instead is a beam of light and enlightenment to those with whom he comes in contact. Their perspectives and, thus, the lives of his fellow patients, the staff at the hospital, and especially the doctor who has been assigned to "treat" him are all brightened and even enlightened by the way in which the character seems to live in wonder and appreciation of the world around him.

I wonder if this perspective can be valuable for us as we strive to create more purposeful lives while continuing to go through our daily routines? For example, have you noticed that when we are caught up in the fear, pain, and drama of our lives and/or the lives of others, we seem to be merely reflecting what we see? It's almost as if we become a catalyst in the proliferation of the situational angst by taking it in, and then reflecting it back into the environment. Unfortunately, in doing so we also experience it ourselves, and eventually begin to define ourselves by this process of anxious reflection.

I'm not saying that this is wrong or bad, I'm just wondering if it is working for us. In other words, I'm wondering if this tendency to reflect the pain and fear of the world around us is truly helping us create the experience of life that we want? It would have been very understandable for Kevin Spacey's character to be angry and insulted that he was arrested and then treated as a "crazy person" and, yet, that was not his reaction. Instead, he seemed very confident in who he was and the "energy" he was bringing to those with whom he came in contact. He was in a sense beaming his contentment, peace, clarity, and confidence into his interactions with others and choosing this role, becoming an instrument of enlightenment.

I wonder to what degree we are choosing our role in how we affect our lives and the lives of those we encounter? Do we listen to their complaints and tell them of even more dramatic situations where we were the victim of unfair treatment? Do we hear their gossip and make ourselves feel special by joining in the process of saying negative things about someone else? Do we try to make others feel guilty, or manipulate them into caring for us by convincing them of our inability to care for ourselves? Again, these questions are not designed to inspire guilt, only awareness. For, to the degree we are merely reflecting the world around us (especially when that world seems to be defined by fear and worry), then the sooner we can become aware of this tendency, the sooner we can begin to redefine who we are more purposefully.

What could this redefinition look like? Well, what if this process of self-definition revolved more about the sort of energy we put out rather than what we should or shouldn't take in? What if we decided that we wanted to define ourselves as beams of light, bringing clarity, direction, and even enlightenment into our lives and the lives of others? And what if we decided that we were willing to take 100% responsibility for this process? The wonderful thing about giving love and light to others is that we must first find it within ourselves, for we are unable to give what we do not have. Further, this process of discovery and delivery multiplies the energy exponentially until giving becomes receiving, and all are "beaming" in a way that is congruent with the quality of the energy being "beamed" Not a bad vision for a person or a planet, don't you think?

Take care and God bless, Dr. Bill