Light in the darkness

 

Dear reader, is the darkness now light ?

Here we are at the beginning of another year, when the light starts to return. The light is what keeps all living things going, it drives everything on this small orb. It is the true light that illuminates the darkness, it is bigger than us, and yet we are intimately reliant upon it.

There is another kind of light, the human intellect, this light is dangerous to us in a way the true light isn't. The intellect can be manipulated and weaponised.

I once called myself 'Christian' because I saw in Christ a deep and integral humility that was lived.

Our history in the west has been coloured by the perception that 'Christianity' is somehow superior to any other belief and must be upheld through the use of force. Bombs are dropped and land and people destroyed.

The Christ I tried to follow had compassion and rejected the way of violence walking a path of non violent resistance to authority, one of humility, even to the point of being arrested on trumped up charges (no pun intended), beaten and executed. His way was different, one of seeing and being light in the darkness. It almost guaranteed the darkness would try and snuff him out. I think it is still trying.

Jesus said; 'I am the light of the world' and told us that we too are that light. The light is seeing and noticing a brother/sister and neighbour in a Palestinian child, a Jewish child or in an 'enemies' child. The light is in the child not yet darkened by isms and factions, greed and fear. The light is also in our fellow creatures on this earth, or as Jane Goodall called them - our kin. It is in the tree, the river, the mountain. The light should be enough for us to live by, but it never seems to satisfy the darkness.

I lay down by still waters. I see light in the created things, I see light in the compassion and vulnerability of fellow human beings, I see light in the landscape and in the garden, in art, in poetry and music. I follow the light as best I can, the light of the world, this earthen heavenly place.

We are creatures to whom light is available, enabling us to see and notice things like the blue tit drinking from a vessel in the garden. A fragile small creature of feathers and air drinking water, tiny drops of water to satisfy its tiny body. This is light - The light. It is visible to me because I have eyes to see and a heart inclined to the wonder of it. A heart that is pierced each time I see its desecration. Perhaps we all unknowingly live with this heart pain every day, not recognising what it is trying to say to us ?

With open eyes we can see both light and dark in everything, including ourselves if we are honest, but like the trees we can keep lifting our boughs toward the light.

The light is available no matter what label we may attach to ourselves in this world where the light is. All religions recognise it, any follower of light should be able to see what the darkness is achieving in the world at this time.

Let there be light !

Sorry for the rant.

Paul