The way light works

The quote below, often attributed to James Keller and paraphrased from his original phrasing, holds more than poetic charm—it carries a deep truth. It reminds me that sharing knowledge, kindness, encouragement—or simply my presence—doesn’t take anything away from me. In fact, it does the opposite. It amplifies the light.

The message is simple but profound: Generosity and compassion are not finite resources. They grow the more they’re given. A single flame can light a hundred more without fading in the slightest. And in doing so, it creates something warmer, brighter, and far more beautiful than before.

There’s something quietly radical about that.

How often do we believe we must conserve our energy, our time, or our joy because we think there won’t be enough to go around?

How often do we hesitate to uplift someone else, as if their rise somehow means our fall?

But light doesn’t work that way.

Light is not a competition—it’s a chain reaction.

So today, I reflect:

• On all my OASIS graduates who have planted themselves in the heart of their community, and are now sharing the Restorative Yoga practice in their own unique way

• How much joy I receive when I light someone else’s path through mentorship and witness their success

• On the guidance and generosity that I have received from my own teachers, from which I learn these attributes from

Let this be my reminder: Helping others doesn’t weaken me—it expands me.

When I show up, when I give freely, when I shine even when it’s easier to dim,
I not only brighten someone else’s world, I reconnect with the power of my own.

I want to move through the world with the kind of confidence that gives freely. To shine without hesitation. To lift others without fearing that it makes me smaller.

Because the truth is—when I light another candle, I don’t lose anything.
If anything, I remember that I am the flame.

Much love, Gabrielle

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” - James Keller