Be The Light That Dispels The Darkness

You are invited to try an experiment right now—this very moment. (Preferably it is nighttime while you’re reading this.) Take a candle and a match with you as you walk into a room that is pitch dark. Stand there for a moment, take a few deeps breaths, now light your candle with the match and notice what happens. You will no doubt observe that the light of the candle has dispelled the darkness. You can see pictures on the wall that were only there in memory before. Electrical outlets even become visual. The details of objects are obvious. It is absolutely amazing to witness what a difference the light from just one candle brings to a dark room.

To dispel means to disperse or drive away. For the purpose of this article, darkness is symbolic of greed, jealousy, hatred, self-pity, fear, anger, guilt, remorse, self-loathing, ignorance, conflict, distrust, worry, prejudice, depression, war, and rage. Light is representative of generosity, harmony, kindness, gratitude, service, compassion, wisdom, calmness, truth, joy, gentleness, support and love. (It’s interesting that angelic precedes anger in the thesaurus.)

So, do you know people who live in the dark? Who are the dark? They’ll do anything to be right. They carry rage within them that seeps out at times and at others blares forth like thunder. How about those folks who blame life on the fact that nothing good happens to them and it’s always somebody else’s fault? They become so victimized that the very notion of unconditional love is foreign to them. Then we have an element of the population who manifest their suffering through physical ailments—constant body aches, back pain, sore throat, and indigestion to name a few. Their depression and remorse is buried so deeply that the darkness of this energy prevents the precise functioning of their organs to operate optimally and disease and illness manifests. Unfortunately, a portion of our youth have absorbed many dysfunctional belief systems of the adult population as well as society, and it shows up in statistics that indicate the highest rate of methamphetamine use was among the 18-25 year age group. During 1999, 4.3% (9.4 million people) of the U.S. population reported trying methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime. Unfortunately many of our little ones haven’t escaped the darkness either, being products of parents who live unfulfilled lives and suffer in mediocrity. They’ve learned to fear instead of express their natural tendency to be the light.

Here’s another opportunity for you. Now that you’ve read the prior paragraph symbolizing the darkness, tune in to your body and notice how it feels. Review the list of dark words: how do all of them feel in your body when you simply read them? Does what you’re feeling right now motivate you to call your local homeless or pet shelter and offer your services for an afternoon? Does it inspire you to help out at the holiday program planned at your granddaughter’s school? Are you stimulated to make a special meal as a surprise dinner for your son and his family? Do you feel light? Energetic? How about enthusiastic and zestful for life? If the answer is simply “no,” it is understandable.

We may experience all of the above dark energy from time to time, but when we are the light, the candle that illuminates a room, we have chosen to move through the negative beliefs and feelings that are trying to hold us prisoner. When we are the light we know we are a conduit and we allow the love and joy of our true nature to channel through us, in lieu of the dark thoughts. They’re just thoughts! Again, they’re just thoughts. When we are the light we choose trust and we know that the circumstances of life will grab us unless we override the dark energy and exhibit our authentic power. When we are the light we are called upon to participate in another’s life—sometimes very unexpected and under unusual conditions—to remind that person who forgot they are also the light. When we are the light we recognize that the same electricity feeds the variety of colored bulbs, not just the white ones, on a strand of lights. When we are the light, we are the flow of the river, surrendering our ego to the magic and perfection of the current. When we are the light, we honor ourself for letting go of the past, trusting the future will unfold flawlessly and feeling the joy of the present moment. When we are the light, we radiate unconditional love for ourself as well as others, demonstrating compassion and kindness to all living beings. Now feel what it would feel like to be the light. Review the words representing the light. How does it feel in comparison to the dark?

You get the idea. So go ahead and be the light that dispels the darkness—I dare you. Make a difference this holiday season. You just might get used to it and carry it throughout each day of the new year.