My love of Light is deep and passionate. Dipping into light, is an offering of it’s affirmations, paying homage to those who ventured into higher ground and returned with sparks of Light.
The title is inspired by the poet Mary Oliver, who portrays prayer as, a dipping of oneself toward the light.1 Why “prayer”? Because I view my work, along with the arc of life, as a form of prayer. The human journey into light is a journey of faith—rooted in the notion that grace, forgiveness and compassion are woven into the fabric of the universe.
In biblical text, the introduction of Light is relayed as a physical act, but it also can be viewed as metaphor for the dawning of human consciousness. Light is what makes our species fully human, providing Homo Sapiens a dual citizenship: to the numinous foundation of Darkness that already existed, where embryos are nourished and dreams are formed, and to God’s daughter, Light. These two domains are not adversaries as commonly perceived, but as complementary bodies, created to cross-pollinate for the well-being of a vibrant, captivating life, overflowing with promise.
If Light provides insight then insight leads to the most transformative human force, love. Distilled by Dylan Thomas, Love is the last light spoken, and as characterized 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, in John 3:14, pointing to its ultimate power: We know we have passed from death unto life because we love.
Light, like love, gives of itself freely, filling all available spaces. 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. Noted by the 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.
With humility and heartfelt joy, welcome to my domain.
Abraham Menashe
New York City, January 1, 2014
1Mary Oliver, Winter Hours, Houghton Mifflin, 1999) 108.