Salt & Light

Salt & Light

Every candle I create is made with such intention. I am pretty meticulous when it comes to choosing the name, the fragrance, and bible verse. Each candle has a story and today I am going to share the story behind the inspiration of Salt & Light.


My grandmother passed away on a Thursday, a random day of the week, but the details of that day are still vivid. The night before, I went to bed on the couch after binge-watching a show starring Zoe Saldana. In the series, she played a mother and wife who lost her husband to cancer. I now realize that watching that show prepared me for what was to come; it was teaching me how to grieve.


At that time, my grandmother was in the hospital. Despite her condition, I was still in denial about how close she was to death. I thought I had more time and had put off going to see her. I planned to visit that weekend, but Thursday morning brought unexpected events.


I woke up to a strange sound, which made me feel like someone else was in my apartment with me. It was a consistent noise, and after working up the nerve to investigate, I discovered water dripping from the ceiling into a puddle on my bathroom floor. I called my mom, who has all the answers in moments like these, after all, I’m just 36teen. She helped me realize that if the carpet is soaked and water is coming through the bathroom door frame, it was likely a flood from the upstairs neighbors or a burst pipe. So, I called the maintenance team and carried on with my usual routine.


While at the gym, I received another call from my mom. This time, she had news: the doctors were telling her to get to the hospital to say goodbye to my grandmother. I froze. The flood couldn’t disrupt my routine, but this news did. I had to get from San Diego to LA in rush-hour traffic. My mom, worried I wouldn’t make it in time, told me not to come. But I needed to be there for her, so I let my job know the situation. They showed me so much love, concern and support, and I had only been working there for a week.


I started the four-hour drive. Overthinking, lack of food and water, and tears led to a migraine—one of the worst I’d ever had. By the time I reached the hospital, my grandmother had passed. I was greeted by my family with love, but before I could say goodbye to my grandmother, the nausea from the migraine overwhelmed me. I threw up on the floor of the hospital bathroom. The day was filled with inconveniences—from my apartment flooding to the migraine and vomiting. Seeing my grandmother for the first time without her seeing me back was too much to process.


To cope, we decided to keep moving. My mother and I went to the funeral home to make arrangements. The receptionist was so rude and preoccupied, unable to appreciate the kind of day we were having. If my grandmother hadn’t already bought her plot, we would have taken our business elsewhere. I wondered if I was being too sensitive, but Yelp reviews confirmed I wasn’t.


This experience stayed with me because it was one of my hardest days, my apartment was flooded, my head felt like it was about to explode, I was just vomiting on the hospital floor, all while grieving the loss of my grandmother, but for the receptionist, it was probably just Thursday. 


Salt & Light was birthed out of the this very real reminder that I am called to be Salt & Light in the earth. Because of this experience I became a little more sensitive to others around me. On any given day, someone could be having the worst day of their life and for me it could just be Thursday. So for that reason, I strive to be hospitable, loving, a little more attentive and aware of the stress and pain of others just in case the person I am interacting with that day is having a bad day, a series of bad days, months, or even years.


In memory of my grandmother, I aim to make every interaction count. We never know what someone else is going through, and a little compassion can make all the difference.

Let's reflect....

Think about a time when you experienced an unexpected act of kindness on a difficult day. How did it impact you?

How can you incorporate more compassion and understanding into your daily interactions?

Feel free to share your thoughts and stories in the comments below. Let’s make a collective effort to be the salt and light in our communities, bringing a little more love and light into the world.

 

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