Drawn by the Light?

"Miracles are seen in Light, and Light and Strength are One." -- A Course in Miracles, Workbook 92

"May the blessings of Light be upon you, Light without and Light within. And in all your comings and goings, may you ever have a kindly greeting from them you meet along the road." -- Irish Blessing

"You are the Light of the world. A city that is set upon a hill cannot be hidden." -- The Bible, Matthew 5:14

"I am the Light of the world." A Course in Miracles, Workbook 61

I love noticing how much we fear the Truth about ourselves. How many sayings do we have that reflect this? We say 'they were caught like a moth in a flame' or 'they were blinded by the light' or 'too much light causes cataracts and skin cancer' and on and on and on. We fear the Light that we are, and so we project that fear and make a world where the fear stays hidden anxiously below the surface in the beliefs we hold about each other and the world.

Just for fun, and because it's St. Patrick's Day and my grandparents were O'Bannons... here's a little joke about this very thing. It seems an Irish farmer named Paddy and his beloved wife were expecting their first baby. She was very close to her time, and that very evening when Paddy came in from the field, he found her in their little loft in the throes of labor. He sent a neighbor for the doctor, and heard her cry, "Paddy, come quick, bring the lamp!" And he watched his first-born enter the world. He was overcome with awe, and when the doctor arrived he handed him the baby and said to his beloved wife,"Darlin', it's happy that I am, so I'll just be goin' to the pub for a pint and a wee celebration." He took the lamp and started down the ladder, when the doctor called him back with, "Paddy, quick! Bring the lamp!" And lo and behold, infant number two was born. After everything settled down, Paddy was truly overcome with joy, and said, "It's so happy that I am, and a lucky man with two such fine babes. I'll just be goin' along now to the pub for that pint..." And so saying, he started down the ladder once more. But once again the doctor cried, "Paddy quick! Bring the lamp!" And baby number three entered the world. At this point, poor Paddy was truly overwhelmed and a wee bit concerned. "Doctor," he said, "Do you think it could be the Light that's drawin' them?"

In all religions, Light is synonymous with God. In all traditions, Light is synonymous with wisdom. And yet, in this world, we fear it even as we are drawn to it for warmth and illumination. In this projection we call the world, we have made a mockery of the Truth. We believe that the fire that gives light can burn and destroy. We believe the moth is destroyed by the light. We believe that light can be concentrated, focused, and used as a weapon. We believe that light can come and go. This is not Light... this is a dream. The Light of God is eternal, and we are told in The Bible that "in Him there is no darkness at all." So if there is no darkness in God, Who is Infinite Being, All-in-All, and we are told that we "live and move and have our being" in Him, then where exactly is the darkness that we think we experience? Where are all the lacks and limitations and fears that make up the darkness of the world we imagine?

So in this world, we are drawn to the light, the sun, the happy, the loving... and these can certainly reflect the Light of God and seemingly dispel the darkness of the world for a time, like Paddy's pint at the pub. But the Truth remains, unchangeable and eternal: we are not drawn to the Light... We Are the Light.

"Who is the Light of the world except God's Son? This, then, is merely a statement of the Truth about yourself. It is the opposite of a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. It does not describe the self-concept you have made. It does not refer to any of the characteristics with which you have endowed your idols. It refers to You as You were created by God. It simply states the Truth." -- A Course in Miracles, Workbook 61, 1:1-7