The Power of Light
[Warning: Slight political rant here today.]
Light.
It’s one of those things we can’t do without, y’know? Over the centuries of human existence, light has become culturally synonymous with enlightenment, clarity, and all things positive.
Darkness, on the other hand, is equated with fear, obfuscation, and secrets.
Maybe that’s because light is so useful in revealing that which is not clearly seen. For instance…
Early Morning in Downtown Houston
I was downtown Houston a few weeks ago for a seminar. It was on the 4th floor in a rather nice hotel next to the Convention Center (that unusual-looking building you see in this photo).
Since the traffic situation was a big fat unknown to me, I decided to go fairly early. (I live in Tomball, a small town on the outskirts of NW Houston – a drive of about 40 miles.) As usual, leaving earlier meant ‘way less traffic, so that was good. On the other hand, I got there so early it was still about an hour and a half before the seminar started.
To kill some time I spent an hour or so watching the sun rise and shooting a few photos in Discovery Green Park, a small park right across the street from the hotel. (You’ll no doubt hear more about the Park in future posts, but if you’re interested, you can check out some of the photos I took here.)
Anyway, just before the seminar started, I was helping myself to something from the breakfast buffet (don’t worry; it was healthy stuff – promise!) when I happened to glance out the window. Or to be more painfully accurate, I glanced at the window.
Yuck!
I mean to tell ya; it was disgusting! It looked like… well, forget the descriptive; you can see for yourself. The morning sunlight had dramatically illuminated the dirt on this window to the point where it was almost all I could see!
Needless to say, if you folks from the hotel staff are listening, I think you might want to invest in a bottle of Windex and a big ol’ bucket of elbow grease. (There’s even a convenient ledge upon which to stand – just, um, don’t step back to admire your work! Just sayin’.)
The Power of Light
Yep; no doubt about it, light can be a pretty powerful tool when it comes to revealing stuff.
You can use light to find something lost. The other day, Mrs. MZM dropped a tiny little pill on the rug in our bathroom. Now, you’d think something like that would be pretty easy to find, right? I mean, the rug ain’t that big! But no, because of its color, it simply blended into the rug. So I turned on a flashlight and held it down low, parallel to the floor. Sure enough, the shadow of the pill gave it away! Voila!
Have you ever tried to convince someone to do something – but it was based on, perhaps, shaky logic? No need to raise your hand, my friends; we’ve all done it, haven’t we? I mean, from childhood (it wasn’t me, Mom!) it’s been a long succession of attempts to convince folks I knew what I was talkin’ about.
And what about (sound of terrified scream) politics? How many times has one politician after another made a statement – or ten – that simply didn’t hold up under the application of a little light on the subject? I mean, what’s with that, anyway? And what’s even sillier – they actually get upset when you do it, too! As if they were tryin’ to, y’know, put something over on us…
I mean, take the fracas over Health Care that’s goin’ on here in the U.S. (please!) You’ve got folks on both sides talkin’ as loud as they can, tryin’ to convince you they’re right and the other guy is wrong. Hey, I say we drag out the light and let’s take a look at it!
Does it do this, or that, or even that other thing? With just a little examination, we can find out for ourselves just what it says. Why be afraid of reading it, y’know? And why do they object to us reading it, I wonder?
All I’m sayin’ is, light can be a most powerful tool when it comes to discovering something fundamental – like the truth. And when folks start objecting to its use, well Bubba, don’cha find yourself wonderin’ just what exactly they’ve got to hide?
I’m just sayin’.
_____________________________
No responses yet
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
No offense, but I don’t think light is going to help at all in the case of politics. Obviously our health care system needs a revamp, but a lot of people fight against changing our trashy system just because they don’t want “the other side” to be right. None of it makes sense. It’s not like they need things cleared up. It’s a matter of egos.
I think light is the most important powerful thing that man discovered. And on a deeper sense, light as the truth is the most important tool for human existence to be meaningful and authentic.
On the political side of it, the problem is that each politician or sides with different interests and goals carry their own light, their own torches. It is sometimes difficult to drag the light back to the middle of the table for all of us to discover what is the truth if each of the people and groups that needs to be listened to would not listen in the first place and carries a bucketful of water on the other hand to extinguish other torches.
An important part I think on seething through what is true is one’s attitude towards his light and the light of others.
Blog hopped from Jan_Geronimo’s blog to here.
Your blog is awesome and Jan indeed did it again to give us great blogs to read. This is on to my reader now.
@Alfred – Pardon the expression, but you can’t be serious! Light not helpful at all? What world are you livin’ in, Bubba? Believe it or not, there are actually folks out there who don’t care about either party; they just want to get it right, y’know? And in my humble opinion, breakin’ what ain’t broke ain’t the right way to go about it.
You’re right in that egos are cloudin’ the fracas, but I say that shining the light of truth is gonna be the ONLY way we can find our way outta this one!
But hey, thanks and a tip o’ the hat for leaving an opinion, Alfred! Drop by again anytime!
@Elmot – I see what you’re sayin’, and I hear that argument a lot. But the fact is, truth is truth. Not your truth or my truth; it’s truth, y’know? Now, whether or not you can accept it is another animal altogether, if you get my meanin’, but truth stands above all else. The solution to folks tryin’ to put out the light, so to speak, is to shine a little brighter. You’d be amazed at the power of even a single light, y’know?
Hey, many thanks to Jan for bringin’ you by, Elmot. A big ol’ tip o’ the hat to ya!
Robert,
running the risk of getting whacked, but my opinion is: The first thing is to discuss what is the problem. (or what is the truth, as you would say) Obviously differing opinions exist on what the problem / truth is. The second step is to discuss what the solution can be. The second step to do is only possible if we agree on what the problem is.
I have difficulties believing in one truth. Maybe due to the German history where we had two parties (the fascist and the communist) who said that they knew what truth is. They did not, as history has shown.
.-= Ulla Hennig´s last blog ..Another Web-Adventure: Zazzle =-.
@Ulla – Gee, did I seem like I was whacking folks? Sure didn’t mean it that way. My apologies, y’all!
You’re right in that different folks have different opinions on what “truth” is; wow, is that ever true! And you’re also correct on step two: you gotta agree on what the problem is before you can begin to solve it. I happen to think we haven’t made it past step two yet.
But here’s the biggest challenge – I happen to believe we (collectively) can sit down, reason together and find the answer to those questions. But it takes effort, energy, logic, facts – and especially time. Rushing to solve a problem we can’t even all agree on is, in my opinion, a recipe for disaster.
I also think the best way to solve this issue is for all parties to lay aside their ideological differences (yes, it’s hard to do – and impossible for some!) and put ALL the facts on the table. When I hear one person or another saying things that are patently not true (it’s easy to verify facts in this day and age when all the documents being quoted are available on the internet for all to see), it becomes clear they’re not interested in truth, they’re just tryin’ to manipulate us. Kinda makes it hard to reason with an unreasonable person, y’know?
You mentioned German history, and I can see where a healthy dose of skepticism would be perfectly understandable. Nothin’ wrong with that! (Personally, I think that’s the best way to be. Far better than running around believing everything just because so-and-so said it!) But the key back then was (and still is, for that matter) the control of information; back then, it was easy for whoever had the power to control all the information outlets and thus more easily shape public opinion. These days, that ain’t so easy – the Internet has made available a wealth of alternate channels for news and information to get out so folks aren’t so easily led astray – unless they want to be. May we ALL learn from history!
I agree with you. Light is one of the most important thing.. but we can live without a light but a light from God is the most powerful one.
Robert, you are right that light illuminates and I am with you on shining the light of truth. The interesting thing about light is that even when a thing is illuminated, individuals see different things. When light shined on the window, it was the dirt that stood out for you (and I think I would have been equally horrified) but for someone who lives with dirty windows the light may have illuminated the frame of the window, or a thread on the carpet or maybe the pattern of light itself would have caught their eye. I do believe that truth is truth but I also know that over the years, I’ve learned more about that truth and how it applies to me. Although that light shines on me daily, each day I see different things that ahem need tidying up.
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..Rip the Veil or Close the Blinds? =-.
@Abigail – Gotta go along with ya on that one, Abigail!
@Karen – As usual, your kindness shines through, Karen! You make a great point about what others see in the same light I see. There IS a great deal of interpretation goin’ on, pretty much all the time. And besides, the last thing we want is for that light to shine on, um, us, right? :-\
I echo Karen’s thoughts. It’s very easy for two people to look at the same thing and see two different things. That’s why communication needs to be the light — it goes beyond shining on something. It digs further to help us better understand each other. Can’t tell you how many discussions we resolved quickly because we made the effort to verify we understood each other first before moving ahead or making assumptions.
.-= Meryl K Evans´s last blog ..10 Commandments for Writers Using Social Media =-.
@Meryl – You’re absolutely right – communication is THE key to everything! And the technique you outline here is the right way to go, too. What’s difficult is when two the two parties have no common view of what, exactly, the truth is. You kinda hafta go all the way back to the basics.
Robert, Undoubtedly, the dirt on the window is really disgust! It’s starting to kill my appetite, if I saw this kind of dirt, especially when I’m enjoying my meal…
Honestly, although we’re not longer living in the “Age of Darkness”, but sometimes, most of us are still living in blindness, when it comes to the political stuffs!
For me, light gives us hope. Just like christmas, without any lights you can feel christmas. It is pretty bored if christmas don’t have lights at all.
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Spacesaving Mini Sewing Machines =-.
@Wilson – Yeah, you’re right about the disgust, Wilson. Pretty yucky, indeed.
@Chris – Hey, I like that thought, Chris! Thanks, and a tip o’ the hat to ya!
Your welcome Robert. That’s what i observed. You cannot read as well without lights..
)
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Folding Chair in a Bag =-.
we cannot deny that the effects of light.it could brighten the dark night.it could help ue find the lost things…while what i want to say is the psychology effect that lights have on us.when we are scared, if there is light in front of us, we could feel calmmess.when we are lonely,ithe light could reminds us happy experience with our friends or parents.when we are waiking at dark night,the light could direct us the expection of our family…………… what the light bvring s to us is warness and promising..