“I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”

Edward Everett Hale

Friday 24 January 2020

Light of Joy and Life

This week's quotation is by Honoré de Balzac: "Light is a symbol of joy and life." As simple as that...


And yes, my heart is lifted by visions of light, by photos like this one. I do a quiet sit each morning, and at this time of year, I often witness the return of the sun at dawn from my bedroom window, as the sky changes from black to darkest blue, then red and orange and yellow, before metamorphosing into what we call "the clear light of day".  It fills my heart with wonder at the beauty of God's universe.

In our Unitarian services, we light a candle, a chalice light, at the beginning of each service. The symbolism of this is deep and wide-ranging. It is a symbol of life, and shared community, and also of the hope that comes from being in community, together.

Quakers speak of "the Light within", which is their term for the divine spark that is in each of us. I have a beautiful set of Zen Osho Tarot cards, and one of them shows a shining figure inside a foggy shape...


It reminds me that this divine Light is deep within each of us, waiting to be noticed, and attended to.  And also that a similar divine spark resides deep within every single human being - old, young, male, female, non-binary, of whatever sexual orientation, class or race. A part of each of us that has never been wounded, never suffered grief.

And I believe that it is our job, while we are here in this life, to recognise the divine spark, that of God, in others, and reach out to it in recognition and joy. So easy to write, so very hard to remember, sometimes...

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