letting the light in.
They say that sunlight is nature’s best disinfectant, and perhaps there is some truth to that. I am often reminded how the first few days of the new year can often be the loneliest days of the year. As things come to pass, and new beginnings enter into possibility, there is a tendency in the vacuum (post-holiday), for light to forget itself within the spaces it once occupied.
Lately, I find myself returning to remembrance and the very first spaces from when I learnt to let the light in. Letting the light in has never been about an embrace of a positive emotive experience, but more toward a reconciliation of our experiences, that a clarity and peace can be found through the realizations that as so much the days endure, hope and courage can be found within our quiet battles. That as we grow through our stages, we find spaces worth pursuing, and within our pursuit, find the lessons in forgiveness that teach us the art of ultimate surrender.
The art of courageous resilience and learning to let the light pour in perhaps is reflected best in the spaces of humility. It takes extraordinary courage and intentionality to choose to pursue the light as it comes in, and to have the sun find spaces that we keep (often with intention and shame) hidden from view. It is not to say that we are always ready to find and embrace the light, or that we have to be in the constant pursuit of light, but our experiences do not exist in a vacuum. The nature of growth is found perhaps through the wisdom to create and provide space for both to thrive.
While the wrestle may never get easier, it continues to remain constant. Perhaps with enough diligence and first times, may we grow within the courage of our experiences to understand our capacity to let the light in, and see within the dance of light an expression of a space worth living, from the other side. With enough patience, practice and compassion, may we learn that choosing to let the light in is not so much an expression of overcoming, but an expression of acceptance in the simple acknowledgement to see ourselves as we are, imperfect and willing. The nature of letting our spaces teach us, as we invoke them, a tenacity towards perseverance and heart to understand, what it means to endure to the very end.