Enlightenment

What is enlightenment exactly?

I've been pondering that question a long time.

Here's some of what I know.

Enlightenment does not mean now everything is perfect and tidy and you are all done.

Enlightenment can happen again and again.  We need reminders.  And, there are always new lessons, or at least new flavors to the old lessons.

I feel like I can finally call myself enlightened, but I know there will still be unenlightened times.

I will still have times when I am impatient and I scream at the children, when I am judgmental and fight with my husband, when I say mean things to myself and eat too much ice cream.  I will still have days where I feel sad, angry, lonely, insecure, anxious, depressed, and just plain bad.

A person who is very physically healthy can still get sick or injured.  But if they have that baseline health and strong immune system, that means they can recover and heal that much more quickly and easily.

That's what I think enlightenment is truly about.  It's having a solid center that you can easily find your way back to.

There will always be new stuff thrown at you to deal with, and everyone goes through natural cycles of equilibrium and disequilibrium.  That's all part of being human.

Getting yourself to a place where that little light of yours always shines somewhere, at least a little bit, enough to guide you back out, that seems like enlightenment to me.