There’s a quiet light that never goes out.

Like a lamp with a steady, unwavering flame, it’s always on, always bright, always ready. It doesn’t flicker with moods or circumstances. It doesn’t dim when life gets heavy or when we feel lost. This light is constant. It’s who we are beneath the noise.

But here’s what happened. We put a shade over that lamp. For whatever reason, we did.

Not on purpose. We do it innocently, without even realizing that we did. The shade can look like old beliefs, fear of being too much, painful memories, or the weight of expectations. Slowly, we begin to live in the filtered glow, mistaking the softened light for the full brilliance of what’s possible.

We start to believe, “This is how bright I am.”

And we adapt. We shrink. We hold back. We play roles. We get comfortable in the shadow. It feels safer there—less exposed, less vulnerable. We begin to forget what it felt like to live in the fullness of our own light.

But the lamp never changed. Only the shade did.

“The light within never dims. It only waits for us to lift the shade we’ve mistaken for truth.”

That inner brightness—your clarity, creativity, resilience, and deep knowing—hasn’t gone anywhere. It can’t. It’s not something you have to earn or improve or fix. It’s just covered for a moment.

And when we see that we’re simply living in the shadow of the lamp, something softens. We stop trying so hard to fix the darkness, and instead, we become curious about the light.

Sometimes, people ask: “But what if I take the shade off, and it’s too much? Too bold? Too bright?”

What if I can’t handle that kind of clarity?
What if others can’t handle the real me?

But here’s the truth: you can never be too much of the real you. Not the overthinking, efforting, shadow-living version—but the unfiltered essence beneath it all. That version is always exactly what the moment needs.

You were never meant to live half-lit.

You don’t have to stay in the shadow.

The world doesn’t need a dimmed-down version of you. It needs the you that remembers the lamp is always burning. The one who lets the shade drop, not through force, but through insight. Through remembering.

The light you seek is not out there.
It’s already here.
And it’s already enough.

Now go take on your day!

With love and respect,

19/100

Here are a couple of songs that beautifully echo “Living in the Shadow of the Lamp” both musically and lyrically:

This timeless spiritual is all about letting your inner light shine without fear or shame. It’s a direct and powerful affirmation of the brightness within, and the courage to remove whatever shade we’ve put over it.

Key lyric: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”

This upbeat, soulful pop track is about coming out from the shadow and finally seeing your brilliance. It’s encouraging, full of heart, and reinforces the idea that the light’s been there all along—you just have to step into it.

Key lyric: “You, you’re such a big star to me / You’re everything I wanna be / But you’re stuck in a hole / And I want you to get out.”
“Shine, shine a light on me / Shine on me.”