The darkness and the light…

Tomorrow is the first day of winter, the longest, darkest night of the year.

It seems like it’s dark when we get up and go to work or school and it’s dark when we come home!

And even though the days do start getting longer and the nights shorter, we often still bemoan the dark and the cold.

But even so, in this darkness,

our light increases

just like the sunlight does.

Our homes and businesses light up with Christmas trees and holiday lights and various religious and cultural traditions celebrate light.

And our “light” shows in other ways too-

• we buy gifts for each other,
• show kindness to strangers, and
• increase our volunteering to help those in need.

This is indeed the season when we show hope in the goodness of the human spirit-even when our world feels dark literally, emotionally, or spiritually.

(If you’re like me, you rather hate to see the holiday lights come down in January because it’s still dark and the lights are so welcoming!)

 

How can we, each with our one candle, dispel the darkness we see in our world?

Even when the darkness seems formidable, just a candle light can shine through the darkness. And just as one candle can light a myriad of others without losing its own light, so we too can share our light, our love, our compassion, ourselves by

• listening,
• giving,
• forgiving,
• paying attention,
• smiling,
• loving.

We are all part of the light.

We are all part of the whole.

We are all part of each other,

and so the light we share is shared with all, by all, for all.

There is comfort is remembering this Truth.

What will you do to share your light?