Spiritual energy is sustained by balancing a commitment to others with adequate self-care.*
(Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz)

mortals must do what they are here to create or they will become cranky**
(Seth Godin)

To be the light requires that we shine and replenish. It’s a both/and. On then hand:

You can’t keep giving without taking in: Fundamentally, spiritual energy is a powerful source of our motivation, perseverance and direction.*

But you can’t go to the source of your light and keep it to yourself.

One of the discoveries Viktor Frankl made and shared in the Nazi work- and death-camps was to live for something bigger than ourselves:

What was needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.^

Whilst our values, talents and energies are important sources, so too are the disciplines of humility, gratitude and faithfulness. Put simply, to grow stronger in who we are, be aware of and open to all we have in our lives and seek ways to put these into action in small ways that repeat and evolve.

When we get this right, the hope is there’ll be more and more light and less darkness in the world.

(*From Jim Loehr and and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)
(**From Seth Godin’s Tales of the Revolution.)
(^Viktor Frankl, quoted in Jim Loehr and and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)