"It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Oh, Thomas Edison, where would we be without you? In the dark? I think not!
As an involuntary member of the MVP (migraine victim party), I constantly find myself shying away from artificial light. Of course, we don't live in the simpler times when we could sleep as soon as the sun went down. When there is no sunlight left in the day, it's time for all those artificial lights to rise and shine.
I've recently discovered the wonder of candles. Of course, I've always kept them around the house, but I never took the time to light them. In my mind, they were always just for show. In no way am I admitting to working by candlelight, but I have found that the illumination of a candle nearby my work station is truly calming. Not because it is scented or looks nice, but because it's a product that doesn't want anything. It doesn't need to be filed or calculated, fed or cleaned. It just sits there, modest and glowing, reminding me of simpler times while I plow through piles of work.
There's something to be said about my philosophical understanding of a candle. The flame of a candle is beautiful in so many ways, while at the same time being about the size of my pinky nail. How can something so small give so much? From the small flame of one candle, I can light 10, 20, or 500 more candles, and my initial flame wouldn't lose a thing.
As members of today's society, we can give one day's work, and come home completely worn out. Give help to 50 people, and end up needing help yourself. It's like the man who started his life excited to be a scientist, and ended up 30 years later finding it hard to wake up in the morning and go to work. Why can't we maintain our childlike innocence and joy as we go through all the moments of life, good and bad?
In this world of iphones and flat screen TVs, I think we need to give some time to enjoying the "simple" things in life.
Take a moment, and light a candle.
"I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn't have one. So I got a cake."
Mitch Hedberg, Comedian (1968-2005)
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