In Sweden Santa Lucia, or Saint Lucy’s Day is welcomed in by a girl with a crown of evergreens and candles on her head. January 13 was the solstice in the old, Julian candle, so the day honoring Saint Lucy was a way of ushering in the growing light. But in Sweden you will have to wait quite a long time past December before you will see much of any light at all.
How do you find patience to wait for the light when it is nowhere to be seen?
I think you meant Julian calendar – message received nonetheless.
Probably the 13th of December rather than the 13th of January as well, considering when this is posted. Still, the message holds true.
I don’t think I have much patience for these sort of things. I have to wait, whether I want to or not, but I’m filled with despair and angst. I try to remind myself that the light (in the figurative sense) has always come back in the past and that there is every reason the believe that the same will hold true for this instance of darkness. This and the knowledge that some desperate actions will, in all likelihood, only add to the darkness can keep me from performing said desperate actions. However, it’s a cold, hard hope – nothing that really comforts me. Since reading this month’s Quest, I’ve been trying to let go of the struggle when it’s clear that there’s nothing more I can do and actively choose to wait. I’m still not sure if this approach works.
This is the internal darkness. As for the external “darkness” of the various forms of oppression, I find mere waiting only adds to the problem. I don’t know if I have much hope for change, but I know that action needs to be taken. I often don’t know what I can do, but I do what little lies in my power.