Now is the Time to Turn Up the Light

I am standing in a long line waiting to vote again in the GA Senate run-offs.

The stakes are a little different now from my last long wait line, and although the wait is not quite the valiant 5 hours I stood to vote for the 2020 general elections, it is still long and just as important. 

As I wait the cold blue sky stands witness to the silent tense line of voters in our anti-virus masks and careful observation of social distance.  Practices that have marked what has been a strange, lonely, and difficult year; one that most of us cannot wait to end.

And yes, as the march of time takes its predictable course, the end of 2020 is drawing closer. The days are getting shorter. The Hindu festival of lights, Diwali is recently over. Hanukkah is halfway through. Mid-December is upon us and the winter solstice is drawing nearer, as is Christmas. I happen to be teaching a course on Zoroastrianism, the religion that was supposedly the first to keep alive an ever-burning flame as a symbol of both the eternal soul and the hope that light brings to our lives.

As the long wait line wends slowly forwards, I find myself contemplating the messages of Hanukkah; of freedom to express my truth, and of the miracle of the light that dawns daily and supports and warms our very lives on earth. My thoughts deepen and I muse on the knowledge that light is the first emanation from source; from the profound void from which all manifestation arises. 

I think of the promise of Christmas; of the sacredness of new birth, and of the joy in new opportunities. New Year is just around the corner. I pray that as a species we can remember the essential light at the heart of life. I pray that as the darkness of winter invites us to remember all that light promises, we can turn our focus to a brighter tomorrow. Let’s commit to making this coming year one of freedom, caring, sharing, and truly honoring the light at the heart of one another. 

As the Hindu greeting so simply and eloquently states, ‘The Divine light in me honors the Divine light in you.’ Oh, what a wonderful world we can create if we live by that creed!

Namaste.