We’re in an interesting corner
of the calendar, where days grow shorter and people of various traditions
celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil and of life
over death.
Yesterday marked
the first day of the Hindu festival of Diwali.
I learned about Diwali when I moved to the Valley They Call Silicon. Since I
was struggling with driving back the dark, I glommed onto it like limpets on a
rock. Last night I again massed candles to drive back all manner of dark
things. Not only do I like the soft light that groups of candles give off, the
very act of lighting them one at a time and nursing along some of the ones at
the end of their life slows me down. It calms me down.
Filling a room with candle
light takes time; you can’t flip a switch and move on to the next task on your
to-do list. And if you’re lighting those floating jobbers, you have to be very
focused on not disturbing the water, because then it dowses the flames and you
have to wipe them off and start over again.
It’s like the
count-breaths-to-21 methodology of meditation: if you lose count because your
monkey mind is distracted, you have to begin again from one.
There are some days I never
make it into double digits.
But there’s something about
knowing how happy the moving lights will make me that enables me to persevere
with candles. I light them, sit back and watch; and for at least a few minutes
the world around me is peaceful and full of hope. Light prevails over darkness,
love conquers fear, and good triumphs over evil.
Today—the holiday you know
as Halloween—is also the Celtic holiday Samhain. It marks the bringing in of
the harvest and the envelopment of the world in winter darkness. And tonight is
the night when the doors between the living and the dead open, and protective
and cleansing bonfires are lit.
Today is also el Día de Muertos
in the Mexican tradition, when the living open their lives to the dead, who are
celebrated with sugar skulls, favorite foods and drink, both in the home and via
picnics at cemeteries. The celebration runs through tomorrow (All Saints Day,
in the Catholic Church) and Wednesday.
Because on Wednesday,
Christians mark All Souls’ Day, remembering the faithful departed. Not
precisely inviting their spirits back into daily life, but certainly making space
for the memories and praying for their souls.
This year I have one more
custom to add: the yahrzeit candle of Jewish tradition, to mark the anniversary
of my BFF’s death. That happened the 18th of October last year, so I’ve
been more focused than usual on consciously filling my life with light. This consciousness
includes gratitude—acknowledging the things and events, both large and small,
that connect me with the world (and the spirits) around me. Walking in the
light, as it were.
Like lighting many candles
in a dark room, this takes time. You don’t flip a switch and fill your life
with light; you light one candle at a time, and nurse the weak ones along to
give their best.
So: light over darkness,
good over evil, life over death, love over fear. These are the things I give
thanks for at this time of year.
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