Book Club | Light is the new black
- Carly Morton
- Jun 1, 2019
- 4 min read
I feel like I should re-name my book club blogs to "Review of Books recommended by Kalyn Nicholson" because 'Light is the new black' by Rebecca Campbell is another one I can add to that ever growing list.
In saying that, I was really hesitant about buying this book and kept putting it in and out of my Amazon cart until I finally bit the bullet and asked for it from my partner for Christmas. While the book cover was really 'pretty' and I was visually attracted to the book (I'm sorry, I DO judge a book by its cover) the blurb and reviews made me skeptical as to whether it was a book I was truly going to enjoy.
The subheading for the book is 'A guide to answering your souls calling and working your light' which, sounded a bit too 'spiritual' for my liking...
As I read books I know I'm going to write a blog post on, I turn down the pages that contain quotes and ideas that resonate with me. There weren't many in this book, but here are a few of the things that spoke to me:
"Check in on the intent that you are putting out there as you post. Do you want to share your light, encourage the light in someone else, or is it coming from another place?" (p.199)
"Don't waste your time striving to become the person you long to be, spend your time being the person you already are. The person you long to be is already inside you" (p.216)
"Let your spirit be your brand" (p.232)
"Choose your own theme song" (p.237)
"Someone who is in complete alignment has aligned their energy, thoughts, actions, and words to be a vibrational match with what they want to attract. That is, it's not about longing to be something 'one day', rather bringing your thoughts, actions, energy and words into complete harmony so that you 'already are' all your wishing to attract." (p.242)
"Don't get disheartened if no one 'likes' or praises your writing. You have no idea how many hearts it has actually touched. Just show up and trust that if you have a message to share, people who need to hear it most will see it...Don't write to sell, write to share." (p.250)
"In this social age, it's easy to see those who are walking a similar path as your competition. Don't let your ego see that person as seperate, we're actually all on the same team, there's no need to compete. There's room enough for everyone." (p.269)
All of these passages really resonated with me and what I'm experiencing in life at the moment. Particularly the idea about people not liking or outright praising your work.
I put a lot of time and energy into my creative endeavours and often feel discouraged because I wonder if anyone actually reads, views or sees value in it. Reading that passage reminded me that the people who need to see my blog posts, pictures and videos will.
Having now read it, I can say that, on the whole, I didn't really enjoy it. I didn't like the fact that the chapters were so small and read more like daily devotions where you could pick it up, read a page and put it down for another day. I know that this format could really appeal to some people, but it honestly didn't work for me. I was craving more of that 'guide' book idea that it promised on the front cover.
Campbell likes to switch it up by adding a 'work your light' activity to the bottom of each chapter. While I thought this was an interesting idea, I didn't actually complete any of the activities as most of them were thinking based rather than doing based and they didn't excite me.
Some of her chapters were also poems or songs that she had written, sometimes even mantras. While this was a unique touch, I also did not like it. If I wanted to read a book of poetry, I would have bought a book of poetry. I wanted a book that taught me practically how to be a 'light worker' and at the conclusion of this one, I didn't feel like it did it for me.
If you have read any of my previous book club blogs, you would know that these 'self help' or 'spiritual' type books can really appeal to me when the author weaves in their own personal journey and fills it with anecdotes and their own personality. While Campbell did that ABIT, incorporating more of her journey may have made the book more interesting and appealing and added a more practical element to it.
I think I'll keep this book around for a while longer and perhaps thumb through to specific sections that resonate with me when I need to be reminded, but I think after that, this one will make it's way to Vinnies. Ironically, the other week as my sister, cousin and I were going Op-shopping, I found a near-new copy of this book AT Vinnies. Guess someone else in Ulladulla felt the same way about 'Light is the new black' as I did.
Carly xx
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