The water is dazzling in the sunlight, a thousand diamonds set in sapphire. But water, of course, has neither light nor color of its own: it simply reflects what hits it back out into the world. Which makes it no less beautiful.
How will you help someone else’s light to shine forth in the world?
The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year, the moment in time when the light is at its lowest ebb. Which means that it also marks the moment when, imperceptibly, the earth tilts toward spring, and the light begins to grow.
Where do you find signs of growing light in your life?
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?
Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the light that refused to go out, the oil the kept burning as long as it was needed. In the dark of the year, Hanukkah honors all the ways that we manage to keep the light of faith, of hope, of joy, of compassion, of freedom burning , even when it would seem logical for that light to burn out.
What helps you keep the light in your soul alive?
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.” –Terry Pratchett
What mystery is always waiting for you, no matter how fast you travel?
