Light

You have to fight fire with fire. How many times have we heard that phrase or cliche’? Quite a few times I would imagine. I know that I have heard it many times and I have to tell you……….I hate it. Hate is too strong of a word, but lets just say I dislike it with a great amount of passion. More on the use of the word hate at a different time.

Let’s analyze this just a bit, what is fire referring to? About the only thing that fire should refer to is fire. Period.

I have been in many situations that I certainly wish that I handled much differently. It is difficult when confronted to not go right on the defensive. It really takes practice to think about the situation and react accordingly.

I can remember once when I was out on patrol as a police officer in southern Missouri. A liquor store had just been robbed by a man with a sawed off shotgun. There was some thoughts that he was hunkered down out in the woods. Of course it was the dark of night and there was now a bunch of officers guns drawn and walking the woods. I have to tell you, this was certainly a tipping point for me. I can remember physically shaking. And to be honest, I really couldn’t imagine taking the life of another person. I know what he did was wrong. I know that he probably had a gun pointing at me and I didn’t even see him. But, unless he was pointing that gun at a loved one, I don’t think I could have shot him. I would rather act like a human shield and let the shotgun pellets hit me rather than fire a gun and shoot him. I could fire a gun and maybe hit him. I did get the high shooter award in my law enforcement class, but there are several thoughts on that also. Once that bullet leaves the gun, you have no control of where it goes. Was the aim good enough? You can’t put that bullet back in the chamber. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. If you give good thought to this, it would seem very very frightening.. It did to me.

So where does this all go. Where am I going with this. The title of this dissertation is Light. What about the light. Well, what I am asking you is this question. How can you fight the dark? What is the dark? I say it is the absence of light. You cannot fight darkness with more darkness. You cannot fight fire with fire, you have to be the light. You have to be able to practice that art of not being offended by the offensive. How can someone be rude to you when you are kind? How can someone treat you badly and you not be hurt? It takes practice. Take time to think about the situation. Take a breath. Look at the sky. Look at your shoes. Close your eyes and relax. Think of something nice. I don’t care what you do, but take a moment and pause. Be the light. In the darkness that someone or something is giving you, be the light. Be the light that shines.

I feel that I haven’t emphasized this enough. My point is this. No one can hurt you if you don’t allow them to hurt you. No one can put out your light if you don’t let them. I believe all people are good. Some are better than others, but all are good. Some have a light that shines bright, some have a dim light at best. In this day and age, we have all been stuck at home and sheltered in place. We have had our freedoms stripped from us. We have had many things taken from us. I defy anyone to take away my light. My right to do what is “right”, by being the light. I think there could be a song lyric in there somewhere.

Go out and be the light today. On a whim, just do something nice for someone today. Let your light shine just a little bit brighter. You will probably get some goofy looks, find enjoyment in that new light………………….