Lights Will Guide You Home

It is not something that you see you every day, especially in a location where it should be impossible to see the northern lights in the sky. When I heard that the northern lights were visible where I live, I was excited because, I haven’t seen them since I was a little girl. I live in the south so seeing the northern lights in the south is very abnormal. But my joy and excitement could not be contained any longer that night. I drove out to a desolate road in the middle of nowhere where I know there is no light pollution at all, and the view would be perfect because there are no trees in this wide-open space. Seeing the northern lights for the first time in a long time brought so much nostalgia for me. They are a little hard to see sometimes with the naked eye but, that when I remember when you take a picture of them the visibility and imagery is a thousand times better. I was just snapping away photo after photo. It was intriguing to see the lights moving through out the night sky and changing colors it was just breathtaking and almost magical.

My heart had never felt that much wonder in a long time. I could not believe I had forgotten just how beautiful the world truly is in certain moments, times, and places. I love nature and the wonders of the world, and this was truly magnificent.

But there was also another thing that was on my mind a lot when I was looking at the northern lights. I was thinking back to my heritage and what these lights mean to me being part Native American. I love embracing my heritage/culture because, there is so much history and traditions that run deep. I know some don’t like to embrace it or find it odd for those that are so passionate about their origins. I chose to embrace because, its who I am and it’s my identity, and it really does give my life so much more meaning to be a part of something like this. Through my culture I've learned to love and embrace nature a thousand times more, and now feel that connection when I take walks through the forests. Through my tribe I was taught how important it is protect this world we live in and the importance of preserving the beauty of it for generations to come. I love hearing all the stories and legends about my people but the one thing that I love the most that my people believe in; is that when we see the lights that it’s the spirits of our loved ones that have passed on watching over and protecting us.

Even with this past year being a major challenge for me, where I had to overcome so much with finally finding the peace and strength I had been searching for. It was the love from two of my deceased relatives that have gotten me through it all. With just being able to see the lights after all these years I have never felt so close to them again until that night. I miss them both so much and there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about them. There are still so many moments that I wish that they could still be here for; or when there are times, I need them in my weakest moments. But just seeing the lights and knowing they are up their watching me and protecting me both day and night has given me a renewed sense of hope and optimism. After going through a deeper drastic change of self-transformation I finally feel like I can breathe and now see the light. Now if I ever see the northern lights again I know they are looking down on me and are proud of what I hope to continue to accomplish.

The one part I love the most with the photo I took was that you can see my shadow silhouette at the bottom of the picture on the ground capturing the moment. After experiencing this beautiful moment with a lot of self-reflection there were 2 songs that I thought about after I was done staring up at the night sky. The songs “Fix You” and “Yellow” by Coldplay come to mind. Where one of the songs talks about look at the stars and how they shine on you; and the other talks about how lights will guide you home. Which both are true because we should always look to the light for hope for a better future. Seeing the northern lights light up the night sky has reminded me of one motto to always remember “In our darkest times there is light."