The weekend before Christmas I had two fine opportunities to ponder the notion of light within the darkness. On the morning of solstice, Kim & I took the long trek to Columcille in the pre-dawn hours so we could share in the sunrise with our dear friends. Of course it was dreary and cloudy but that never deters this group of hardy spiritual travelers that gather regularly among the stones of Columcille. As the time for sunrise came, we gave some hoots and hollers to welcome the sun. Of course we couldn’t actually see it. But we took stock in the notion that even though we can’t see the sun, it is there just doing its thing. It is shining its light even though we can’t see it directly. It is always there. There is always light shining in the darkness even when we can’t see it with our own eyes.

Because we don’t actually see it, does that mean we don’t believe it is actually there? That is foolish. Most would agree that even when we can’t see the sun it is there behind the clouds just shining away. Anyone who has ever taken a commercial flight that took off in the overcast cloudy skies and then climbed to 30,000+ feet where it was sunny knows that the sun is there. We just can’t see it from our vantage point. Yet we can still believe in it and benefit from its light and know it is there. There is comfort, connection, and joy in that knowing. It is a worthwhile lesson to remember not only on cloudy day in December but whenever you may feel doubt creeping in to your heart because of sorrow, loss, darkness, or just plain uncertainty on life’s journey. We don’t have to see it to believe in it. And, once we start believing we can start creating what we most want. Read the rest of this entry »