Luminescence: Following the Glow

 

luminescence - noun - an emission of light by a substance that has not been heated (Google).

For an unbeknown reason, light has been on my mind lately, primarily the luminescence that potentially shines from within. I use the adverb "potentially" as we all know darkness can easily consume any intrinsic glow quite easily, especially now since all the news that the media broadcast forebodes gloom and doom. Yet in all situations, a certain degree of choice is involved. Often we can opt for light over  darkness, happiness over despair, as easily as making the decision to switch on or off an electric light in a room. Sometimes it is not easy, particularly if mental illness is involved, yet if it isn't, the potential for light is omnipresent. How can we find it? To get to the luminescence on the offing, all we have to do is steer towards it, trusting our instincts as sailors in life. 

Case in point: Last Friday, Good Friday, I wanted to attend an evening church service to reexamine the significance of the day, perhaps find light in what is generally a dark tale. Since not too many churches offer services celebrating the dire occasion of Jesus's crucifixion, I did some on-line research and found that the Methodist church where I was married thirty-five years ago was holding a Tenebrae service, which features a slow extinguishing of candles in a candelabra over the course of an hour: brightness subsiding into blackness to symbolize Jesus's gradual loss of consciousness and finally, death on the cross. It's not what I'd term a luminescent ceremony; indeed, it is quite the opposite as it tends to focus on grief. Because I was running late, I almost decided not to attend, but something inside of me, perhaps a glow of some sort, propelled me. I followed the luminous path.

When I walked into the church sanctuary, a director asked me to sit with about six others in the chancel, the space normally reserved for the choir in back of the alter. After I sat down, the people seated around me (primarily women) were extremely friendly and welcoming. (In case you are of a different faith, true Christians tend to be like this–particularly in church–since the religion is all about reaching out to neighbors and treating them like you would want to be treated.) One divorced woman like myself by the name of Barbara told me she had recently moved to my town from St. Louis and was having a difficult time finding friends, something I could relate to as I had been in similar circumstances at least once in my life.

Later on after the service, in the church parking lot, we continued the conversation. I confided in Barb that as most of my women friends are married that I could use a few more single friends to pal around with when my married friends were off with their husbands. Of course, she was delighted at the prospect of transcending her loneliness, and we exchanged contact information. Despite the sombre tone of Good Friday, light managed to shine through, truly making the Friday good. 

The takeaway here is quite obvious: Positivity of some sort usually creeps in if we let it. Sometimes we have to trust our instincts and follow the luminescence of the spirit to wherever it may take us, the offing or beyond. 

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