Casting light into the darkness
Wasn't there a program on the radio and
television in the 1950's entitled
The
Christophers? (I think so,
Sometimes, though, memory fails me.) Their theme song went something like, "And
if everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would
be!"
That bright world reminds me of another song I learned over fifty years ago. "Brighten the corner where you are, brighten the corner where you are. Someone far from harbor you may lead across the bar. Brighten the corner where you are!"
Both of those songs are about helping your world. As societal members we must improve our world. It begins with my actions. Yes I can look about me and find all nature of things that need improvement, but am I willing to look within me and address the things which I need to improve upon? It is real easy to look outwardly, but most difficult to look inwardly.
I once read an interesting definition of the word Satan. The author suggested it meant light bearer. That caused me to apply my reading brakes. Whoa! The Greek definition of that word is quite literally adversary, accuser. So I tired to fit those two definitions together and here's what I came up with.
The author of that book I was reading meant that that which tempts you, that which goes against what you understand is the "right" thing for you to do, the correct choice, is adversarial. However, if you allow yourself to really see what is taking place in this temptation, you can shed light upon the darkness which dwells within your mind. If you do yield to the temptation, you will see the person whom you could become.
In other words, you get to see the person whom you truly are. Light has been cast into the dark recesses of you mine. That light is like your accuser. It says, "This is who you really are." It is though you hold a mirror up to your face, and you see on the mirror your image reflected and you say, "Yep, that's what I look like. That's me. like it or not."
So says the accuser. "This is who you really are and you can't do anything about it" Or can you?
Why is it that when we cast the light into those dark recesses, we prefer quite often to ignore our weaknesses? Rather we prefer to do that which we know is wrong. We prefer to hunt others and we ignore our responsibility to do that which will lighten the load upon another.
Why do we prefer to do things that burden others; to speak or write words which hurt those about us? Why?
My father quoted over and over the title of Billy Sunday's famous sermon from the 1930's. Daddy always said, "There'll be a
payday someday." He taught me that those who continue to do wrong will someday pay a dear price for their actions. What he was truly teaching me was that you must have responsible behavior. You simply can't do anything you want to do just because you want to do it. Because someday it is going to come back on you. What goes around comes around.
I still haven't addressed my question as to why people who are capable of understand that their behavior is harmful, that if intentionally embarrasses others, that intentionally hurts feelings, that it intentionally attempts to destroy people, would move forward irresponsibly. The answer is not mysterious. The answer is not beyond our scope of understand. A person who intentionally hurts other people does so because he has been so badly hurt, generally as a child, so humiliated, so abused, that he wants for always to hurt others. He wants them to feel the pain he lives with every conscious moment of his life.
Adolf Hitler was abused. Hit. Yelled at. Humiliated. To such an extent that there could not be enough millions of people, including Jews and Catholics, who could die to ease his personal pain. He became a monster.
An individual who year after year hurts those in his community, humiliates them, causes them mental anguish, is only expressing outwardly upon others the pain he is experiencing inwardly. The scary part however, is that he must continue to express his pain because he is completely incapable of shining the light into the darkness of his mind. He is incapable of accepting the pain inflicted upon him and therefore is incapable of acting responsibly within his community. He becomes a monster.
Let your light so shine that others may see.
Dare to shine a light into the darkness of your mind and brighten the corner where you are.
That bright world reminds me of another song I learned over fifty years ago. "Brighten the corner where you are, brighten the corner where you are. Someone far from harbor you may lead across the bar. Brighten the corner where you are!"
Both of those songs are about helping your world. As societal members we must improve our world. It begins with my actions. Yes I can look about me and find all nature of things that need improvement, but am I willing to look within me and address the things which I need to improve upon? It is real easy to look outwardly, but most difficult to look inwardly.
I once read an interesting definition of the word Satan. The author suggested it meant light bearer. That caused me to apply my reading brakes. Whoa! The Greek definition of that word is quite literally adversary, accuser. So I tired to fit those two definitions together and here's what I came up with.
The author of that book I was reading meant that that which tempts you, that which goes against what you understand is the "right" thing for you to do, the correct choice, is adversarial. However, if you allow yourself to really see what is taking place in this temptation, you can shed light upon the darkness which dwells within your mind. If you do yield to the temptation, you will see the person whom you could become.
In other words, you get to see the person whom you truly are. Light has been cast into the dark recesses of you mine. That light is like your accuser. It says, "This is who you really are." It is though you hold a mirror up to your face, and you see on the mirror your image reflected and you say, "Yep, that's what I look like. That's me. like it or not."
So says the accuser. "This is who you really are and you can't do anything about it" Or can you?
Why is it that when we cast the light into those dark recesses, we prefer quite often to ignore our weaknesses? Rather we prefer to do that which we know is wrong. We prefer to hunt others and we ignore our responsibility to do that which will lighten the load upon another.
Why do we prefer to do things that burden others; to speak or write words which hurt those about us? Why?
My father quoted over and over the title of Billy Sunday's famous sermon from the 1930's. Daddy always said, "There'll be a
payday someday." He taught me that those who continue to do wrong will someday pay a dear price for their actions. What he was truly teaching me was that you must have responsible behavior. You simply can't do anything you want to do just because you want to do it. Because someday it is going to come back on you. What goes around comes around.
I still haven't addressed my question as to why people who are capable of understand that their behavior is harmful, that if intentionally embarrasses others, that intentionally hurts feelings, that it intentionally attempts to destroy people, would move forward irresponsibly. The answer is not mysterious. The answer is not beyond our scope of understand. A person who intentionally hurts other people does so because he has been so badly hurt, generally as a child, so humiliated, so abused, that he wants for always to hurt others. He wants them to feel the pain he lives with every conscious moment of his life.
Adolf Hitler was abused. Hit. Yelled at. Humiliated. To such an extent that there could not be enough millions of people, including Jews and Catholics, who could die to ease his personal pain. He became a monster.
An individual who year after year hurts those in his community, humiliates them, causes them mental anguish, is only expressing outwardly upon others the pain he is experiencing inwardly. The scary part however, is that he must continue to express his pain because he is completely incapable of shining the light into the darkness of his mind. He is incapable of accepting the pain inflicted upon him and therefore is incapable of acting responsibly within his community. He becomes a monster.
Let your light so shine that others may see.
Dare to shine a light into the darkness of your mind and brighten the corner where you are.
(written August 3,
2001)
Posted: Mon - January 9, 2006 at 06:47 PM
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In a museum most people spend less than twenty seconds looking at a work of art."
"Art arises from basic needs-a strong need to express and celebrate our everyday events.
In a museum most people spend less than twenty seconds looking at a work of art."
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Published On: Jan 09, 2006 06:52 PM
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Published On: Jan 09, 2006 06:52 PM