Being Light

The dark winter, our months-long tunnel, stretches out, still dark, still full of potholes and closed-off places, but I sense a quickening as I continue through it. Pinpoints just ahead and around grow even larger, rounder, brighter, and as I turn my attention to them, I notice it . . . Light.

We all pretty much have our own definition of what a dark winter might mean. During this time of year, especially in 2020, darkness is a well-used metaphor for all kinds of emotions and situations: the confusion and anxiety of uncertainty, the frustration and menace associated with things we cannot understand, let alone control, and the countless, exhausted shadows of sorrow and grief. Darkness is alive and well in the lives of so many that it feels almost childish to write about light things. Still, now, when the Winter Solstice is so close, and life so dark, it feels to me as if there is no better time.

So I present the metaphorical opposite to darkness: Light . . . illumination that provides clarity, brings a positive, hopeful look at situations, and clears away the shadows, giving space to see or even create something different to take their place. In fact, I believe that beyond all the metaphors, finding the Light is actually being in the presence of Love.

Light, in all its various forms and colors is readily available in the natural world, and, for all we lucky ones, also appears indoors with the click of a switch. It clears the darkness around each of us without regard to our ancestry, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual preference, race, religion, political affiliation, handicapping conditions or socio-economic status. Light shines on each of us . . . no exception. Like love, light can signal the end to a darkness; it has the power to surround us with warmth, a sense of joy, of hopeful calm, and an overall feeling of well-being and safety.

I’m on the lookout for love in the shape of points of light . . . the How of dispelling darkness, whenever and wherever it appears. Even the smallest pinpoints of brightness push back at the shadows, acting as sign posts, as focus points to clarify the life unfolding before and around us. You notice it too? We are that light . . . the How to infuse love, one to another.

Just as I believe I can be a point of light for you, you are that for me. You illuminate the stop and go signs, the arrows that give me a chance to zig instead of zag. You are the bright spots that help me adjust my eyes in my darkness, letting me locate my sight lines for traveling forward. And I am grateful.

Greet and celebrate this Solstice using your own light. Magnify this turning point of our year by committing some of your loving light to others. Let’s move forward into a new season shining brightly for each other.

Sending love,

Jane