A single smile disputes
Each star with the gathering night
A single smile for us both
And the blue of your joyful eyes
Against the mass of night
Finding its flame in my eyes
I have seen by needing to know
The deep night create the day
With no change in our appearance.
In this episode, we explore the profound metaphor of waking up in the darkness and how it reflects the experience of grief.
The light of a candle
is transferred to another candle—
spring twilight.
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. ~ Desmond Tutu
Light, my light, the world-filling light,
the eye-kissing light,
heart-sweetening light!
Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life;
the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love;
the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth.
The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light.
Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light.
The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling,
and it scatters gems in profusion.
Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling,
and gladness without measure.
The heaven’s river has drowned its banks
and the flood of joy is abroad.
Searching for treasure must be built into the human DNA. We’re always seeking something better, something beyond us. We invent things to help us search like genies in a bottle. Seers on mountain tops. We stop in antique stores looking for a hidden treasure. We go to auctions hoping for the same. All the while we avoid the one search that will take us to our most important treasure, taking the journey within to discover who really are. Helen Keller said, “What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.” Dare to journey within. You’ll find some dark places, heal and forgive them. What will surprise you will be the overwhelming amount of light you find.
Henry Van Dyke
There are many kinds of love, as many kinds of light,
And every kind of love makes a glory in the night.
There is love that stirs the heart, and love that gives it rest,
But the love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best.
There is an ongoing battle between light and darkness. The two cannot coexist. The darkness draws us into anger and rage and minimizing people who are different from us. The light draws us toward respect, compassion, and cooperation. The darkness asks us to fear others because they are different. It builds false images and speaks of them as a reality. The light sees things as they are drawing people together to make a difference. Although, at times darkness seems to prevail, in the end, historically, light always triumphs over darkness.
Be calm, be strong, be grateful, and become a lamp full of light, that the darkness of sorrows be annihilated, and that the sun of everlasting joy arise from the dawning-place of heart and soul, shining brightly. ~ Abdu’l-Bahá
There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail, there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of man that will not go out no matter how dark the world becomes. ~ Leo Tolstoy
