Historically speaking, the power of light has almost always been portrayed in a positive light. (Pun very much intended) And who could blame us? After all, light shines down on almost all things, revealing them for what they really are. Darkness merely hides the truth, covers up what really is. So obviously, it's clearly more "evil" than light since evil just means the lack of what ought to be. Since everything in this world deserves to be shown for what it really is, darkness is obviously evil and light is obviously good.

Yet for people who have experienced much darkness in their life, light at first causes much more pain than pleasure. How can light seem so harmful? The power of people changing their own lives and having more fulfilling relationships just seems like a lost cause to a lot of folks. A practical analogy is when you spend so much time in a dark room. What happens after you turn the light back on? Your eyes instinctively retract away, right? It's just too much to bear.

Moral darkness and light operate in the same fashion. People who have had a difficult life are so used to darkness that when any goodness (light) comes into their life, they hide - just like our eyes do after being submerged in darkness. That's why when people who have a lot of one night stands finally meet somebody they could love for a really long time, they get scared crapless and run away from the light and back into the darkness they're so accustomed to. They deny that they really loved that person, because that love is honestly painful at first.

But what happens when we simply let our eyes adjust to the light for a few minutes? We get used to the light. We learn that it's not a painful thing. We learn that light is good, and that darkness is everything we're not supposed to be--because with darkness alone, we truly can't be anything.

On the other hand, moral light understands the overwhelming power it has on people. Therefore, moral light should be gentle and soothing. A powerful blinding light, like with people blathering on about how wrong the person in moral darkness is being, will cause more harm than help. Whether you're farther along than another person on your spiritual journey is not the issue, and I'm sure they're well aware of where you stand and where they are. It's about power, and Light must understand that it always has the authority over Darkness and must not hurt Darkness in any way. That's impossible anyway, since Darkness really isn't a 'something!' That's why when we try to fix the person instead of their problem, we do more harm than help.

It can be frustrating for Light, since Light is naturally very fast. It can actually learn from Darkness, who is inherently more patient. Light wants people to change and wants people to change NOW, because they truly see the best in each and every person. Darkness prefers the world as it is, gloom and doom and all. Darkness has to let the Light come in, but Darkness can only do this if Light learns to be patient and understanding of Darkness' issues. Why? Because Light is the one with the power. Darkness doesn't have the power--it's simply the anti-thesis, or the balance to Light. Pure darkness just means nothing - and nothing is the total opposite of goodness and purity. Light has to understand Darkness, but Darkness can't expect to understand Light in return because it doesn't have any power! It's an evil.

Light also mustn't try to shine down on things that are already holy and good and just to begin with. This is a big no-no. When that happens, the two forces just clash and nothing ever gets solved. When you try to help people that really don't need helping, only anger and frustration ensues. Your intentions don't matter, either. It's not about intentions, it's simply about acknowledging what is real. That's how the universe works.

For example, perhaps some homophobes really do LOVE gays. They just can't stand what they do in bed. So they try to "cure" them. They are a Light in a sense, since their intentions might be good and what they're doing surely isn't NOTHING like Darkness. However, the reality of the situation is that there is no Darkness for the Light to shine through. So nothing is solved. And if nothing is solved, that's an evil! Nothing = evil. On the flip side, maybe certain homophobes really do just want to hurt gays. In that case, they are a Darkness. But Darkness cannot get rid of Light, only Light can get rid of Darkness.

It just boils down to recognizing things for what they are and learning to accept their nature. Darkness' inherent goal is to simply continue to be Darkness, since it truthfully can't do anything else. Light's inherent goal is to purge Darkness. Light, however, understands that it can't purge ALL Darkness. That is wrong, since who the hell are we to say that the world is perfect without any Darkness? It's only been around since before the Universe was born. However, Light should vanquish the Darkness that is merely hiding the inner Light in humans. Light should always help get rid of Darkness no matter what, and must not expect the same out of Darkness because that's impossible. Darkness cannot get rid of Darkness. Darkness is a complete negative and can't do ANYTHING until the Darkness is purged and the real human being shines through.

Light is truly better than Darkness, but Light that is misguided and chaotic is like a flashlight falling down the stairs and will eventually run out of batteries and become Darkness itself if it's not careful.

In the end, people with the Light have the power, and it should always be our job to make sure we use that power responsibility.

© Sam Leonard
Life Channels Staff Writer
All Rights Reserved

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