Turn on the light.

Is it just ME, do you, too, love a great reality check?

Here’s a simple – very simple one….

Back story:  I heard this during a recent post-Christmas service in church.  It is so beautifully simple; so simply beautiful.

So many references to light come to life around the holidays:  beautiful art, songs, poems, metaphorical depictions of “light”, whatever your perceive your light to be.  “Twas the season!  

Darkness, too comes to us in as many ways.  It begs the question, “What is darkness?”

Back to church…

Darkness is (simply) the absence of light.  WOW!  So simple.

When you walk into a dark room, my guess is that you turn on a light.

When you are driving and the day turns to night, my guess is that you turn on the lights of the car.

When the lights go out, my guess is that you light a candle or turn on a flash light.

These are all natural responses to the absence of light.

I know these are simple in comparison to the darkness some feel in their lives.  It is not always as easy to just turn on the light; but it always as possible to try.

Many live in a sort of darkness, even at the sun’s highest point of the day.  Others find a way to smile, to give, to “glow” in their own way even when others perceive they are coming through a rough time.  These are people to be admired and imitated.

For those of us in the winter of the year, our days are short (but getting longer!) and the air up north at historic lows.  It is easy to slip into the darkness of “that season” and sadly, sometimes easily understood, and even sadder, still, sometimes a choice.

There are ways to find your light: 

Call an old friend who always makes you feel loved and appreciated.

Find a mentor or a coach whose advice and counsel is meaningful to you.

Read a book that inspires you.

Re-watch a movie you walked away from feeling uplifted.

Look at the beauty of nature all around you.

Write a story , color, paint!  CLEAN!

Light is where you find it and light is where you leave it.  Please be willing to shine your light on others and be bold and caring enough to help others to put an end to their own darkness. 

So, IS it just me, or are you, too willing to strike a match, see its first flicker, watch it grow and spread and give off warmth and beauty? 

Sure you are; let's do it!!

Glow; you look beautiful in the light!