I stood in the shadows, waiting. The day had been productive. It was good to reflect on progress as well as the steps ahead. With inner quietness, from the corner of my eye, I could see and sense the dancing light in the shadows. I was captivated by the gentleness of the movement. It was as if the light was whispering through the shadows.
As I took the message more broadly into my life, there was a clear realisation that love, kindness, and care are the sum of my dreams. Candidly, “You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.” (Romans 13.10)
Care opens new lines of communication and hearing. Care creates a window to awareness and understanding. Without care, I find my defensive barriers rising. I am easily caught up in the emotional experience of non-caring. Equally, I see it in the eyes and body language of those I touch without care. With good and difficult news, the light reminds me of the importance of caring.
Kindness is always in short supply. When kindness touches my life, I am reminded of its strong connection with hope. Kindness and care are great friends. I have come to appreciate the older sibling role that kindness often plays. Kindness brings out the heart’s connection with commitment. It tells the story of our values and priorities, often in quiet moments of life that go unnoticed, except by the one touched.
Love slows me down so that the only moment is now. Love is not slow. To the contrary, love is quick, sharp, and resolute. Love finds itself expressed in the moment, lingering in the memories etched on our hearts and souls. I have come to appreciate how fleeting it is. When it exists across time, I know memories are being created. The time spent with one another. The feeling of an embrace from several time zones away. The lingering sense of longing for one more moment together.
Love, kindness, and care are the shadow’s light.
