My love affair with Light is deep and passionate. Dipping into light is a meditation on life’s bounty, paying homage to those who venture into the Dark and return with sparks of Light.
The title was inspired by the poet Mary Oliver, who portrays prayer as, a dipping of oneself toward the light.1 Why “prayer”? Because the journey into light is a journey of faith—rooted in the belief that grace, forgiveness and compassion are woven into the fabric of the universe.
The introduction of light in biblical text is described as a physical act, but it can also be understood as metaphor for the dawning of human consciousness. In essence, Light is what makes our species fully human. Homo Sapiens hold dual citizenship—to Light’s transformative power, as well as to its faithful twin, the Dark, where embryos are nourished and dreams are formed. These two realms are not adversaries, but complementary, and cross-pollinate for the well-being of a vibrant, captivating life, overflowing with promise.
If Light is metaphor for human awakening, is it not reasonable to ask what is it pointing to? Light is inexorably bound to Love. Distilled in the words of the poet Dylan Thomas, Love is the last light spoken. And by Henry Miller, If there is anything that deserves to be called miraculous, is it not love? What other power, what other mysterious force is there which can invest life with such undeniable splendor? The miracle which everyone is permitted to experience sometime in his life, the miracle, which demands no intervention, no intercession, no supreme exertion of will, the miracle which is open to the fool and the coward as well as the hero and saint, is love. Born of an instant, it lives eternally. Lastly, as stated in 1 John 3:14, We know we have passed from death unto life because we love.
Light, like love, gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished. Described by a contemporary spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle: The first light of dawn was filtering through the curtains. Without any thought, I felt, I knew, that there is infinitely more to light than we realize. That soft luminosity filtering through the curtains was love itself. Tears came into my eyes. I got up and walked around the room. I recognized the room, and yet I knew that I had never truly seen it before. Everything was fresh and pristine, as if it had just come into existence. I picked up things, a pencil, an empty bottle, marveling at the beauty and aliveness of it all.
Abraham Menashe
New York City, January 1, 2014
1Mary Oliver, Winter Hours, Houghton Mifflin, 1999) 108.