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Looking for Light

 


“Where did you find light this year?”

In a gathering to mark the Solstice, friends and neighbors stood in a circle in the cold night air. Folks chimed in as the spirit moved them.

I found the light in…

nature
neighbors 
children
protest
friends
loved ones
community
walking

I can’t remember all that was said. Candles were lit. The light was passed around the circle - - candle to candle, person to person. 

There’s a poem by Emily Dickinson which begins, “I sing to use the Waiting…” We sang a choral setting of this by American composer Alice Parker when I was a student at Mount Holyoke. The ending of the poem has stayed with me through hard times.

We journey to the Day
And tell each other how We sang
To Keep the Dark away.

What a dark year it has been. It has been harder than ever to find light. If I hadn’t been standing in this group of friends in a quiet backyard gathering in Columbia, Maryland I’m not sure I would have made myself really think about it.

I’m still thinking. Where in this community did I find light this year? 

Where in our community did you find light this year? That feels like a good question to start this week. 




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  1. Julia A. McCreadyDecember 30, 2025 at 5:26 AM

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