The Nature of Light

Part 2 of the light and dark essays in the Nature of book.

“Some believe that it is only great power that keeps darkness that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small every day deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”

Gandalf, the Grey

When I speak of light, I am not speaking of the light that is measurable or that we use in understanding physics. I speak of the spiritual light, the light of God, the light of good, whatever you may wish to call it. But it is the light that comes from the darkness that is ever present in our world, in the form of greed or corruption or hate or bigotry. It is the light, as J.R.R Tolkien wrote, that is present in small acts of kindness that gives us hope that there is still goodness and love out there.

The nature of light is the essence of goodness. This is why any small act of kindness and love can penetrate the darkness, even a little. These small acts of kindness allow the light to penetrate the darkness, and allow more truth to be seen. It allows the world to be given a brighter view and enables us to hold on to hope for a moment longer than we may in our lives ordinarily.

People are constantly searching for  hope and for love. We are constantly searching for an every day story of inspiration, amidst the stories of violence and cruelty. We even have the opportunity to reach out to others and touch their lives. While that may not make that big of a difference that we can see, it may start a domino effect where it is continually passed on.

Forgiveness, mercy, compassion, love, joy, happiness in simple things, hope, faith, and healing all provide light in the world. Sometimes we have to be the light bearers and offer it to others and to ourselves. We have to be able to love ourselves, forgive ourselves, and realize that we are worthy of such things just as much as others are. We cannot listen to these people that use advertisements to tear us down, to people that wish to hurt us, or to these advice columns or posts that are made to shame people. We cannot let the abusers or those who seek to tear others down to gratify themselves become the voices we have internally. We have to stand against that and love each other to let the light in. And we have to forgive those who do those things and say those things to allow it to grow.

The nature of light is one that is a daily walk, regardless of belief. It is an active nature, one that is ever present in us all, and that we have to nurture and feed. We have to allow it to grow and water it. The nature of light is one that can do so much good, but we have to allow it and we have to reach out to others with it.