The Existence of Light

Joy – flighty, jumpy, startling thing that it is – often finds its true voice within its opposite… as a bright, insistent spasm of defiance within the darkness of the world.

Nick Cave

I read the headlines, and I am grieved. Well acquainted with grief in my personal life, I recognize it easily. Grief is one of the misunderstood emotional companions in life. Because we associate it with death and loss, we fear it, but feeling grief during a time of loss is the most natural human response we can have. To grieve is to validate the love we possess for those we have lost. Right now you may feel we are collectively losing much of the good our society has struggled to build together. Instead of moving forward to broaden freedom, are we backsliding into the darkness of oppression? Feeling such fearful grief, how do we even begin to practice joy?

It’s worth remembering that feeling grief isn’t only about feeling sorrow. It’s also about allowing space for joy, however, “flighty” or “jumpy,”  to “startle” us. Grief is one of those emotions that teaches us all about the coexistence of dichotomies. Just because one day you find yourself laughing about a memory or dancing to your beloved’s favorite song, doesn’t mean you’re no longer grieving. It simply means that we humans are capable of holding both the light and the darkness.

Nick Cave describes joy as “an insistent spasm of defiance.” Even in times of darkness, where our grief is dominated by sorrow, joy will not be denied. Feeling joy during the least of joyful times doesn’t negate the darkness, it reaffirms the existence of light.

May our joy’s light, however faint, defy the darkness surrounding us, strengthen us, and kindle our hope for brighter days.

~Lisa Kiel