Walking the boulevard by the sea in Santa Cruz, California, this week not only was my path delightfully brightened by the Christmas lights on the houses I passed, even the cyclists had decked out their bicycles with lights, their wheels spinning a brightly colored whirl. My son, who works in the midwest, says the normally very masculine, engineering types at his company have all pimped out their electric buggy rides, used to drive around the corporate complex, with Christmas lights to the max.
It is so interesting that in this age of technology, where we commonly experience the intense colors and lights of big, if not enormous, screens everywhere, we are still excited by, and have great and undiminished affection for Christmas lights. We are all delighted by even the smallest little light in the dark night, and no matter how world-weary we may be in other respects, that delight exists for the old and the young alike.
Perhaps it is because light is representative of everything life affirming. That no matter how dark it may seem, the tiniest light has the power to penetrate the gloom and eradicate a small part of it. More light guarantees less darkness and shadow, and we are all innately drawn to the light. Light reminds us that the darkness cannot, and will not, win.
Perhaps that can be our intention this festive season: light will prevail.
