TLC Solstice Blog - Turning Toward the Light on the Darkest Night of the Year

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Solstice kind of person. He saw the darkest of dark hearts in humanity and he saw what most of us don’t realize: darkness does not have to win. We are stronger than that. We are better than that. We have in us light we never even knew we could shine until we were faced with darkness.

Just as the earth turns towards the light starting on this day of Solstice - and it doesn’t happen all at once, but incrementally - we get to choose to turn towards the light and incrementally turn around the darkness in our lives and the world.

It does not mean everything will be better. It doesn’t mean life will always go our way. It doesn’t mean we will not experience pain and suffering, but it does mean we have a choice to deal with our suffering and the suffering of others with either light or darkness.

I often turn to the first two lines of MLK’s famous quote when I am in despair of the world’s (and my) darkness.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

So I think of things in my life I have learned from this.

Hurting someone cannot drive out our hurt; only helping someone can do that.

Selfishness cannot drive out selfishness; only selflessness can do that. Greed cannot drive out greed; only serving others can do that.

Avarice cannot drive out avarice; only giving can do that.

Bullying cannot drive out bullying; only courage can do that.

Ignorance cannot drive out ignorance; only understanding can do that.

Lies cannot drive out lies; only seeking the truth can do that.

Cruelty cannot drive out cruelty; only compassion can do that.

This season of light amid so much darkness, we wish for you to shine your light in whatever way you can.

And, as Steve Wilkinson coined, Let. Love. Serve.