Lighting the Darkness.

Where I live, the sun will rise at 7:20 AM and set at 4:23 PM on Tuesday, the shortest day of the year. The good news is that we will gain 2-4 minutes each day after that until we reach the June solstice, when daylight will last over 5 hours longer.  Like so many changes in life, 2-4 minutes is barely noticeable, but 5 hours is dramatically different.

A few weeks ago, I celebrated Hanukkah. I lit one candle each night until there were eight. One of the reasons we add a candle each night, rather than starting with eight and decreasing the number nightly, is to represent increasing holiness. Each night the light, which we share by placing our menorahs in the window, becomes brighter.

This year lighting candles seemed more compelling than ever. Surrounded by disease, death, the harsh effects of climate change, and political divisiveness over every issue large and small, each candle was a symbol of optimism. Each candle said, “I am still here.”  

Perhaps, like the changing daylight, one candle didn’t make much of a difference, but suddenly there were eight, a beacon of hope.

I love the Christmas lights now decorating my neighbors’ houses. It may just be my imagination, but I feel like there are more than ever this year. All of us are yearning for light in this time of physical and spiritual darkness.

The seasons will change, the days will lengthen. Our challenge is to find and share the light within us.