Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished. ~ Michael Strassfeld
My son’s school had its annual “Candlelight” assembly yesterday evening, a ceremony that celebrates the coming holiday season as well as the achievements of the graduating class. The school houses Pre-K to 12th grade and each class performed a song, with video interviews of the seniors interspersed between each act. The evening culminated with the senior class lighting each others’ candles while representatives of the freshman class read quotes about “light.”
The quote above stood out to me as much for its elegance as its timelessness. I wonder at what point humanity began to care more about other things – if it went down that way – than the expression of inner light. I have no doubt that the beauty and joy that shines brightly through babies, for instance, is something that should only be amplified as life goes on. For most, however, it is attenuated by the passage and ravages of time.
Take time this season to let go of those elements in your heart and mind that have clouded the expression of the light in you.
He that has light within his own clear breast
May sit i’ the centre, and enjoy bright day:
But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts
Benighted walks under the mid-day sun;
Himself his own dungeon.
~ John Milton
Gregory Hake 
This season is a perfect time to start letting down the walls and to let go of any fear of letting that inner light shine. It’s in each one of us and it’s what is so amazing about each one, so why hide what’s amazing!
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What beautiful imagery for the students. The thought that you can light one candle from another and not lose anything is a point worth pondering.
This is another example of how giving works; it not only doesn’t diminish the giver, it creates more light for both.
How excellent that the school is basing the holiday performance on a theme that will hold up in any faith.
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What a beautiful symbol for your son’s school to share. Darkness definitely is a self-imposed sentence. Thanks for the bright post!
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Letting go to the spirit within, that unique space inherant to each one is our birthright, yet so few there are who actually rise above that clouded dungeon, and remain in the light of the truth, without a shadow of doubt.
Now is most cerainly, as good a time as any to relax into that pulsation as it wain’s into the spirit of the holiday season, filling many a heart with the joy of giving…..freely.
Thanks for the heads up on how to best take advantage of this years culmination, and preparing the way for a wonderfully Bright New Year!
Love to you, Gregg, and thank-you for consistently calling to remembrance that deep inner urge, and for providing the starting points for actualization!
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We are the ones that decide whether we will live a life that is full of light or diminished in darkness. Regardless of things that happen to us, we have the choice to be a source of light in any situation we find ourselves in.
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Fantastic poems Gregg – something I’ll keep with me particularly this holiday season – it could in fact be the best gift we could offer each other
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