It’s the “dark” time of year here in the Northern hemisphere. Especially for those of us in the eastern parts of our time zones, the sun is low in the sky much of the day. Sunset is quite early. It feels dark. (Worse, if you pay attention to the news, life seems quite dark.) We need a little light in our lives and the entire world.
How can you bring a little light into your world? How can we offer a little hope to ourselves and maybe others?
The image at the top of this post is from our “real” menorah from the second night of Chanukah. Many religions use candle- or light-focused holidays at this time of year. (I have not been to the southern hemisphere during their winter, June, July, or August, so I don’t know what the southern hemisphere people do then.)
Many of these light-focused holidays offer uplifting stories aside from the beauty of lights in the evening.
This image is the electric menorah that we put in one of our windows. That offers a little light to the people walking or driving on our street. (Just a little light.)
I love the outside lights that people put on their houses, around their trees. I’m also a sucker for the Christmas tree lights I can see when I peek into the houses. The lights feel warm and inviting.
The entire world feels dark to me right now. While our menorahs bring a little light and comfort to us, I feel as if I must do something for the world. And of course, I have ideas.
Some Ways We Can Bring a Little Light Into the World
Here are my ideas:
- Amplify other people’s light.
- Share something light. I’m beginning to think that Dad Jokes are a wonderful invention.
- Offer ways to laugh at ourselves, often when we reframe our mistakes into humor.
So much of the darkness cancels out other people’s contributions. We literally do not see those lights. Instead, we can watch for and recognize the people who deserve more recognition. We can then choose to acknowledge their contributions and amplify them.
While we can’t make other people do anything, we can offer a little lightness in the form of humor. As long as that humor does not make fun of other people, it will probably bring more light into your world, if not the greater world. Dad jokes are a terrific example of that.
I made a Big Mistake this past weekend. I tried to exit a parking garage. However, I did not see the LCD display because it was too high for me to read from the seat of my car. (My compact SUV is about the same height off the ground as a small sedan.) I managed to stump the machine, preventing me from exiting and, worse, all the people behind me. I now describe this as “testing the exit criteria” from the parking garage. That’s reframing a cascading set of mistakes as a little humor.
The days are dark—as is the news. We can choose how we react. I’m working on bringing a little light into the world. How will you join me?