You don’t just need to light a candle, be one
Perhaps you’re like me and mark each minute of daylight we get after the winter solstice. Perhaps you feel the same way as I about the darkness that seems overtaken the whole world, like an enveloping, noxious cloud. Earth continues its suffering from the ravages and ravages of a deadly microbe.
All the darkness around the world has made it more urgent to have light, despite all the holiday lights and light festivals. It is also true that Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous saying, “It is better not to curse the darkness than to light it,” has never been more relevant.
However, I think it’s time to take it one step further. It is better to the light rather than to curse the dark.
What Does “Be the Light” Mean?
Light has many desirable qualities that make a person healthy, mature and “evolved”. Consider the light!
- It stands out against the darkness
- Shines steady, regardless of what is happening around it.
- Allows us to move freely around our environment without having to stutter.
- Attracts other creatures to it.
Some people perceive someone else and feel drawn to them as a source for light.
- Differentthey recognize the darkness and don’t let it stop them seeing all the good and beauty in life. They strive to make life and the world better.
- Confident and strong they will be able get up after being knocked out because they know how many times they have succeeded in getting up.
- Luminous, radiating calmness and insight and wisdom . This inward source gives them the ability to remain hopeful despite difficulties and obstacles.
- People who are attracted to others can see themselves more clearly when they’re near them.
How I Found My Light
A few years ago, a friend spoke to me and it moved me to tears. But it also opened my eyes. After my 2005 HIV diagnosis, I was living back home in Connecticut. This caused me to experience an all too real midlife crisis.
I kept up with local newspaper updates on a runaway dairy cow in Milford. The cow was a nuisance to animal control specialists for five long months while delighting the residents of Milford whose yards she accompanied a herd deer. I was fascinated at the mix of species travel companions. I wondered how they could communicate, what their conversations were, and why they believed they were safe together.
My intrigue turned into a children’s novel called Williamina Goes Wandering. It is a “fable suitable for children aged five to ten” because it appeals to people of all ages. I have reimagined this true story as the story of a bovine hero who escapes her human captors. Wilhelmina, which is the name Milford residents gave Wilhelmina when she was alive, is captured and taken to Betty’s Farm. Wilhelmina’s true identity went to an animal sanctuary. Wilhelmina realizes she doesn’t need to run anymore and feels accepted and loved as she is.
My friend, Wilhelmina Goes Wandering, said that it was easy to slip into deep darkness following my HIV diagnosis. Others would probably have understood. And they would have pitied if I gave in to fear and depression.
Instead, he told me that I had turned my sadness into a sweet tale about learning to embrace all of the aspects about ourselves that make us unique. I could have explored the inner dimensions of emotional darkness, hatred or fear. Instead, I chose not to explore the inner darkness that has been the source my resilience despite my life’s struggles, losses, and pains.
It’s that light that I try to draw upon in this blog. I hope that it will help illuminate the light within you and keep it burning brightly. I wish you all the joy of Christmas as I write this joyful season.