Dawning – #Blessings #Attention #Easter #Passover

Image by Hermann Steurer from Pixabay

Darkness. Sometimes these days it seems everything is shrouded in shadow. War. Disease. Hunger. Terror. Environmental degradation Hatred and violence. Threats and insults hurled like deadly projectiles, back and forth across an emotional abyss that feels unbridgeable.

It can be tempting to give up, to conclude that we’re on a relentless downward spiral toward self-annihilation that none of us can stop. Why bother to even try, when everything’s hopeless?

It depends on where you direct your attention.

When you opened your eyes this morning, was it sunny? Did you catch a snippet of bird song outside your window? Did you cuddle with your significant other, or your kid, or your cat? Enjoy your shower? Savor your first cup of coffee?

Spring is on its way in the northern hemisphere. New leaves make clouds of tender green, half-hiding the naked branches of winter. Maybe there are cherry blossoms, or crocuses, or lilacs. In New England where I used to live, there’d still be a chill in the morning, but with a hint of softness, a promise of warmth to come. In the tropics where I’m situated now, the day dawns hot and bright, but with a sweet breeze that stirs the bougainvillea vines shading my balcony.

When we focus on something – a thought, a feeling, a memory – we give it power. So while I don’t deny the darkness exists, I consciously choose to focus on the light. Imagination and attention shape our experience. We can choose to balance the horrors we see in the newspapers or on social media with the humble but meaningful joys of daily life.

This is a time of rebirth, a time for rekindling of the light. Easter, Passover, Ramadan – a holy time for many of the world’s peoples. Let us dedicate ourselves to recognizing and encouraging the light, keeping it alive in our own hearts, sharing it with others.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” Matthew 5:14-15.

We illumine all that we touch.