What is the Silver Lining Principle?
Claim – Whatever good you are seeking never leaves, and silver linings remind us that the best is always ahead!
Explain – We associate light with life and what is right. No one ever said,
"It’s always lightest before the sunset," or "Nothing good happens after sunrise."
Jesus was referred to as the "Light of the World" and Satan as "the Prince of Darkness."
The term silver lining was first used by John Milton in his 1634 poem Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle. He used it to describe light seen at night from behind a sable cloud. The term gained widespread usage in Victoria’s England thanks to Mrs. S. Hall who wrote in The Dublin Magazine, “There’s a silver lining in every cloud that sails across the heavens if we could only see it.” So true!
Storm clouds are filled with darkness and allow our emotionally driven brains to lead us to a fight or flight mode. Robin Williams is a tragic reminder of what happens when too many self-made clouds take control of our thinking. And too many of us abandon our dreams just because we run into a storm cloud. We let fear take flight of our dreams, a terrible decision.
Silver linings remind us that goodness, which to me is God, is always present. Storms are part of the natural cycle of life. When the storm passes, the light is so much brighter and the world feels fresher.
Nelson Mandela embodies the Silver Lining Principle. Imprisoned for fighting an unjust system for over 25 years, he never lost sight of the goodness of his vision. When the storm passed, he emerged not only a free man but a better man. He chose to forgive his captors and lead his country into a brighter day. He grew his hope, not his bitterness, and his people flourished.
Norman Vincent Peale correctly observed, “Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds.”
So as this Corona storm grows in strength, did our January dreams disappear or just go behind the clouds? Could we emerge stronger as a people, community, or an economy? The seeds are there if we remember Dr. Peale and Mrs. Hall. Spend some time this week looking for the light!
Questions to ask:
What good thing is now darkened by your storm?
What silver lining story has inspired you?
Next: Part 3 - Nature as a model