A Message from Maria Coutant Skinner, President & CEO
December 23, 2024
Dear friends;
I was out and about shopping this weekend – yes, I’ve waited until the 11th hour to get all my holiday errands done, again! So, I, and about 7 million other frantic people hustled into the stores to try to find the just right gifts for our loved ones. There were some sweet moments amongst us in lines as we bonded over our procrastinating ways – but when I tell you there were some crabby people out this weekend!! I will confess that I was no exception and may have uttered some unpleasantries in my car in response to some rude parking lot behaviors!
Many of you will remember the story of the lamplighter, one of my very favorites. Young Robert Louis Stevenson grew up in Scotland. In those days, street lamps didn’t just come on automatically; people were hired to light each one individually. One evening, as the lamplighters did their work, climbing their ladders, lifting the glass lid, lighting the torch, shutting the lid, climbing down, and moving on to the next lamp, young Stevenson was enthralled. As dusk settled into night, one light would be kindled, then another, and another. He turned to his parents and said: “Look, they’re punching holes in the darkness!”
The darkness comes in many forms, large and small. How we treat the Starbucks barista, the stranger in the parking lot, our children, and our spouses – are all subject to the expressions of our internal light/ darkness ratio. It’s easy to share light when we are well-rested, balanced, and feeling like we’re on the right path. It’s much harder when we are feeling defensive, lonely, exhausted, or stressed.
The lamplighter is an aspirational goal, one we can access when we’ve done the ongoing work of inner peace. Our interactions are always a manifestation of how we are doing – truly, deeply, doing. We can blame that bad driver, the rude barista, the family member for not doing what we hoped or even prayed they’d do, but our reactions are always about us and belong to us. We all wrestle with the darkness from time to time and we are all capable of being purveyors of light. Please give yourself grace to gently do the important soul work you so deserve.
Wishing you and yours a peaceful, light-filled holiday season.
All my best,
Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW
President and CEO