A luminous fable from LIAA KUMAR on self-trust, belonging, and inner guidance.
Zuri, the little firefly, was very nervous. In just a few hours, her family would be making the long journey to a new clearing in the forest. As the youngest of all her firefly siblings, Zuri had just learned to use her light. While it seemed to come easily to every one of her siblings, hers seemed to be stubbornly stuck at a dim little flicker. She practiced every day for hours, and it was still only half as bright as the others’. Not to mention that she had never flown such a long distance before. Before long, the family was starting to stretch their wings and prepare for takeoff. “Hope you can keep up with us, ZuZu!” her siblings called out, laughing as they flew past to join the others. Zuri watched how easily they flew past, tracing their bright lights through the darkening sky, and felt her nervousness turn to dread.
“You’ll be just fine tonight, Zuri”, said a warm, familiar voice floating down. Grandma Firefly took Zuri’s hands in her own, smiled encouragingly, and said, “I know you’ve been worried about making the trip tonight, but always remember… there’s a big Great Light that shines in all of us, just open your heart and it will always lead you home.” Zuri smiled. She was feeling much better. She took Grandma’s hand and they flew off to join the swarm.
… there’s a big Great Light that shines in all of us,
just open your heart and it will always lead you home.
A few hours later, the swarm was still flying, making steady progress towards the new clearing. While Zuri wasn’t the fastest flier in the swarm, she was managing to keep up, and her wings weren’t even tired! “Maybe I was worried for no reason at all!” little Zuri thought cheerfully to herself.
Just as she had that thought, the sky above them began to darken. Big gray clouds rolled across the sky, and the lights around her seemed to intensify in response. Calls went out amongst the group, “Stick together, everyone!” “Watch out for the water!” The wind started to howl and swirl, and the swarm began to fly faster, but Zuri struggled to keep up with them. Just then, a powerful gust of wind blew right under her wings and sent her tumbling far, far away.
When she looked around again, the forest was dark. Zuri buzzed around in circles, looking for the telltale glow of a firefly family, but could only see dark trees and shadows. Her dim little light seemed so useless in the vast, dark storm. Zuri buzzed around and around. She felt so alone, and she was getting scared.
Finally, when her wings got tired, she found a warm leaf to snuggle under. It was then that she remembered her grandma’s words. “There’s a Great Light that shines in all of us; you just need to open your heart to feel it.” Zuri quieted her worried thoughts as she closed her eyes and opened her heart. She began to feel a warm, glowing presence. It was as if she could feel all the love she had for her grandma, her family, and all the world flowing from her heart and all around her. As she felt this warm energy surrounding her, Zuri opened her eyes and was shocked to see her own light shining brightly against the dark sky. She couldn’t believe it! She twirled around and around, watching it illuminate the shadows that had just seemed impossible to get through.
The storm was beginning to clear, and she began to feel a gentle pull, an invisible string guiding her forward. She decided to trust this inner compass and follow it through the forest. Soon enough, she began to see a bright light through the trees and heard cheers from her family as they saw her bright light approaching. “Zuri! Zuri!” they called, and Zuri saw her grandma fly up to greet her. She barreled into her grandma’s arms and hugged her tight, relieved to be back home. “I see you found the Great Light that shines with you, my Zuri, just as it shines in all of us”, her grandma said. “I’m so proud of you.”
Liaa Kumar
