By Samantha McKenzie

I love the sunshine and all the energy it brings to our  daily lives. I love the sun I see up in the sky and I love the shine I see radiating from extraordinary people every day. I gravitate to people who are alive and doing something that betters themselves and others – big or small. This is the energy that makes living all worth it.

I crave the harmonies of human beings and heartbeats of the unknown. I want to laugh at the things we regard as impossible and marvel at every day miracles. I search for vibes and pulses that connect me to others, even those in faraway lands. The sunshine, that great sunshine, connects us all.

It doesn’t matter where your passions lie. I recall a colleague of mine who was a passionate teacher. She loved science and she loved teaching. Everywhere she went, she found new ideas on how to teach the tough topic while also making it fun for her students. She was her own mad scientist and the students loved her for it. She’d turn a casual trip to the supermarket into a lesson plan in five minutes flat. And it worked. Her class outscored all the others in the school and surpassed the state’s requirements that year. She was radiant sunshine!

We’ve grown up hearing about this little light inside of us. We’ve been warned about hiding it under the bushel basket. Yet, each day, we put our passions off for another day, cling to the mundane and call it life.

When others snub their noses at your joy, you should shine anyway.

Your sunshine is your high-five, fist bump, atta-girl to the world. It’s how you communicate out loud that you are thankful and appreciative and grateful for this life. And you look better when you’re beaming anyway!

Your sunshine is not for show. It’s not tied to fame or glory, popularity or prizes. You don’t have to be a celebrity to shine. It’s personal and unique and will light up the world even without the help of technology.

I see sunshine on the faces of young people who can’t wait to tell you about the new “thing” they are in to. I see it in the park when parents are playing with their children. I see it in the grassroots volunteers who line the sidewalks vigorously reminding us to vote. I see it all around me. I see it every day and it ignites me.

Be the sunshine that’s contagious and use it to light your life on fire. Go ahead, let your little light shine!