Lights

The lights, even in New York, go dim at some point during the night.  The city gets quieter, everything takes on a surreal perspective, and the reflection begins.  Whatever one is, New York, rural California, and even India, there is a quietness that only comes in the nights which causes our souls to take stock.  One person expressed the angst which haunts us all too some degree.  “Through the night my soul longs for you [God].  Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you.  When your decisions are on public display, everyone learns how to live right.”  (Isaiah 26.9) 
 
The bright lights are attractive; Broadway, Wall Street, and even Main Street of the town in which you live.  Regardless of the street’s name (they seem to vary by culture, time, and place), it is here we seek to fulfill our dreams and apparent destiny.  The opportunity to realize our potential, contribute and be recognized for what we do, and get rewarded draws us into the web and spiral of life.  It is almost too easy to be caught in the trap of hard work, stretching out for the unreachable prize, and getting ahead of the person running along side.
 
In the process of it all the lights occasionally dim.  If it happens during the day it is usually because of an intervention – wanted or otherwise.  A tragedy or crisis comes and forces us to examine our realized values and priorities.  We wonder what happened to the purity of our dreams.  We examine our choices, pausing to muse on the validity of it all.  We reflect on what is and what might have been.  And frequently we move on, ignoring the lesson life passes on to anyone willing to listen.
 
It is harder to ignore the lesson in the darkness of the night.  Our souls seem to push on regardless of our wanderings, instinctively seeking a reconnection with Divinity.  Stopping to appreciate the darkness of the night, letting God touch one’s soul, and taking everything to heart, is instrumental to living life in the fullest.