Be the Light

I love Yogi tea. The tea itself is one of my favorites. The additional bonus is finding the message on the tag.

I was mulling my blog for today and was settling in on how we have the opportunity over and over again to see people’s faces light up through special or unexpected connection. That is where it was starting.

Thinking about what to say as I got out the Bedtime teabags, the tag was what is pictured above…all about light.

Thank you Yogi tea!!!

Being the light, being a light, being active in bringing light, lighting up the days or moments for others and the faces of others… all of it is on my mind every single day as an antidote the continual flow of news that breaks my heart in many different ways.

It is easy to say, “Where is the light?”

It is a feeling, for me, of being compelled to be one voice, one presence, one tiny spark of hope in radiating light, touching those I encounter, face-to-face or virtual.

We desperately need light to penetrate the darkness that surrounds us.

And we need to remember that even with darkness that surrounds us there is light weaving through it and around it and above it and alongside it if we look for it. It is there.

It is also the time of year when light is celebrated in myriad forms, cultures and faith traditions, softening us when we encounter it. There is much reverence when we stand in the light of candles and we can’t help but gaze at them and be drawn in completely. There is a quieting effect and a way in which the glow brings us into community. Candlelight vigils are also a great example of the impact… the silence in the presence of light… singing as community in the presence of light… feeling close in the presence of light.

Light can also be, well, light…joyful, humorous, cajoling, good natured teasing that pulls someone out of a difficult moment.

And for me, it is all of those things plus watching faces light up…which is where my thoughts began.

Three people today come right to mind from today in the dance of lighting up for it is never a one-way experience.

A special needs woman who was packing some groceries for me… she got to one item that she felt should be in the bottom of the bag rather than on top so she unpacked the whole bag just to do that. I couldn’t help it…having watched her figure it out…I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug and said, “You are really spoiling me by being so careful in the packing” and wow…her face, her joy, her pride in her work, and all of it, which, in turn sent the light back to me.

An older gentleman who I often see sitting along the side of the walking path listening to music but not walking. I always greet him. Recently family members have been walking with him so that he will walk the whole path, which I know is not easy for him. Their patience is lovely to see as it takes a very long time to go around once. I have been cheering him on each time and complimenting his progress and it lights him up… and then he sends the light back to me and invites me to join them and walk together.

I am so grateful for my health and the capacity to take off on a jog and be able to do several miles. Today I came up next to a woman walking who had quite a limp and had to walk very slowly, but she was walking rather than sitting. I pulled out my ear buds and stopped to chat with her about how glorious the day had become after the rain and how her blue turtleneck matched the blue of the sky… and there went the light… and then she passed it back to me in her own compliments. I saw her again later, standing face up to the sun and I kidded about a December sunbath for we are both of the era when people liberally plastered themselves with Johnson Baby Oil to get the darkest tan possible. We both had a good laugh before I took off to head for the car.

We light up someone.

That person lights us up in return.

And both of us go on with our day feeling lighter in heart, spirit and gratefulness.

It only takes a spark and almost no time at all.

Live light, travel light, spread the light, be the light…and light up someone else’s day and inevitably they will return the light.