six hundred seventy-one million miles per hour.
Teeny tiny particles, smaller than a drop of water, rushing around – bouncing off objects in every possible direction. So tiny. Yet in the right circumstances, impossible to ignore. Light. Light doesn’t judge – it just illuminates. Light illuminates what is and what has always been before us – never adding or subtracting or applying meaning. Light can be a sign of hope for the wanderer, a measure of protection for one stumbling through the darkness, and allows those previously unseen to come out of the woodwork once again.
Light can also be exposing. To systems that rely on darkness to continue to propagate their day to day, light can wreak havoc. To shame, that thrives in the darkness even within one’s own internal dialogue, light can be the greatest enemy.
Light leads us into truth – into a more true realization of what is. We cannot examine ourselves in a mirror without light, or see the beauty of our neighbor, or even the ones we love. Without light, we are left to stub toes and fall off the rough edges of the world.
And this light, even the smallest flickering flame of a candle, is most profoundly visible and noticeable in the darkness. The darker the night, the brighter the light will seem.
On Christmas, a few days after the Winter Solstice (the darkest day of the year), our Light comes to us. Illuminating the darkness of the world, making it possible for the world to become generative and full of new life once again, and exposing us for the complicated, beautiful, good, and profoundly flawed beings we are. This Light feels like healing and direction for some, but like an unbearable vulnerability and exposure for those who rely on the darkness for their power.
This Light. It shows us what has always been. It shows us that we are never alone. That we are surrounded by beauty and growth and newness. That we are surrounded by need and suffering and injustice. And it often comes in our darkest days. Let it warm you. Let it illuminate you. Let it lead you home.
Merry Christmas, loves. Thank you for joining me this season. The best is yet to come.
Oh, Light. A music video by Gungor…
Photo by Yasemin K. on Unsplash
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