Shine On!

 This morning dawns murky and gray, a typical late November day.  As I breathe, stretch and whisper a morning prayer, a command floats into my awareness like a flash: " shine on in the darkness; be the light, the change and the hope that you long to see".  I sit with this a moment, meditating silently, sensing my inner light stoked into flame and give thanks for the simple gifts of breath and life.

This is a particularly dark time for most of us.  Not only are our days shorter and cloudier, but we are separated from our families by the restrictions of the pandemic.  As we enter Thanksgiving week, many of us have had to cancel plans to spend the holiday with extended families and are staying home, alone or with members of our own household. We may struggle for things to feel thankful for this week, at a time when we are living in a deeply divided nation, following a contentious election period which is still wrought with uncertainty. We are also facing a winter with a worsening pandemic and the economic challenges it is causing.

Yet this is the time when it is most important to keep our faith, to search for whatever there is to be thankful for, even the smallest glimmer of light, and to "think about such things"*. To keep our minds focused on the good is not foolishness; it is to call the good into being.

Elie Wiesel survived the horrors of a concentration camp during the holocaust and wrote of his experiences in the well known book, "Night".  He writes of falling into despair and then rising in hope again; of the indomitable nature of the human spirit: “I speak from experience that even in darkness, it is possible to create light and encourage compassion. There it is: I still believe in man in spite of man.” ― Elie Wiesel

On this gray November morning, may we create light within our own beings through faith in God and Spirit, shining on in the darkness, keeping our eyes open for all we have to be thankful for. 

*...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Philippians 4:8-9