On Living Light

One can walk along almost any supermarket aisle and the first thing that will catch their attention is the
green strip made of low-calorie, fat-free, and diet products. I’m only 24 so I don’t really know for how
long this food trend has been around, but I am part of the generation raised listening to doctors on TV
complain about sedentary lifestyles and bad eating habits, the generation that cares –or should care–
about fitness, the one that has always had access to culinary and health-related news. Eating light and
cooking light seem to be as trendy nowadays as smoking cigarettes was back when we didn’t know
how detrimental they were to our health. And as important as taking care of ourselves is, so is to be
well-informed. Some people hear the word “sugar” and shiver of fear, yet are willing to consume all
sorts of chemically manufactured products they know nothing about other than they bear a green label.
Some pay extra for genetically modified food, forgetting that for thousands of years human beings fed
on organic food and lived well nonetheless. When fitness and calorie-counting become an obsession,
those habits are no longer healthy. I think it’s ironic how a “light” lifestyle can become a burden.

Luckily, in this journey of life we can decide whether to carry a burden or leave it behind. We might
not be in total control of our lives but we can choose how we go about it; we can either ward off our
worries or let our worries control us. When I was a teenager I cared too much about looks and what
people thought of me, until I realized that was a waste of time and energy. If a situation cannot be
changed, there’s no point in stressing over it. And if it can be changed, it takes as much effort to worry
about it as it does finding a way to solve or better it. Clothes, money, a house, a job, they are all
ephemeral. One day they’re here, the next day they’re gone. If we allow them to become a significant
part of our lives we’re destined to be miserable; our emotional balance cannot depend on possessions.
That’s why in this journey I’ve chosen to travel light, and to live lightly.

What we consider “reality” seems to be the same for all, but each of us sees reality from a different
point of view, and some have a more positive outlook on it than others. When it comes to problems, I
always focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what keeps me going, knowing that no matter
how dark it gets, nothing is eternal. Some people call it faith, this belief that everything happens for a
reason and that no door closes without another opening up. In religious terms, faith is the belief in God,
the confidence that each of our experiences is meant to enrich our lives because that was His will. I’m
not a religious person, but I’ve always admired that positive, loving and when necessary forgiving
attitude of those who live in the light of God. They live light because their faith illuminates their path.
They live light because they don’t get attached to earthly things since they are not what brings them
happiness. And when their actions come from the heart, they can be the light amidst the world’s
darkness.

It is necessary to weight our concerns and let go of what brings us down to live light. We need to
elevate our thinking to elevate our life. It might comprise a lot of reflection, but it has its reward.