When our secrets feel sinister, particularly those foisted upon us, we store them in the darkest parts of our beings. The longer we hide them in our personal dungeons, the more they eat away at our insides causing shame and self-blame. As they seep into our souls, these secrets either overtly or unknowingly become integrated into our identity and how we live.

Every woman seems to be a #metoo. My shoulders sunk as I watched all the #metoo comments on social media. Her too? And her? The #metoo posts slowed and then eventually stopped only because it seemed there were no more women left on my social media feeds.

And then I smiled. Not because of the number of #metoo women, but because we converted our his-stories into her-stories. In so doing, we took our stories out of the dark and into the light. How could it be our personal failing, our personal shame, when half the population is a member of the #metoo club? We did our best at the time we joined the club, but the choice wasn’t ours, and now we can shout about it in the light of day, from the roof tops, shame-free.

Liberation.

I honor the women who were first to go public. That, my friends, is what courage looks like. They were tired of the secrecy, the darkness. They had enough and decided to act.

As we enter this darkest season of the year, let’s shine our holiday lights brighter than ever. Let’s shut down our dark personal dungeons. Let’s step into the bright light that is our birthright.

I’ll be sure to light an extra tall candle for you. And you. And you…