It's Okay to Look for Bright Spots

“It takes a great deal of courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it,” said Oscar Wilde, and this seems particularly true at present. It's overwhelming, the news of the day. I've never been so overwhelmed. This past week Amy Siskind's list for Week 49 was prefaced by these words: “As the length of the list reveals, this was a week of complete chaos and eroding norms. There was an observable sense of exhaustion, anger, sadness, fear and loss among Americans.” 

The world seems heavy on the tainted, light on the glory, when you read the news. And I'm not saying we should ignore the news. I'm not sure if that's even possible at this point. 

What I am saying is that it's okay to look for bright spots, too, and to rest there, dwell in them for a while, as a respite. 

When you find a bright spot, stay with it, whether it's a literal bright spot – sunlight on a yellow flower – or anything that contains a bit of hope or light. 

The Bright Field

by R.S. thomas

I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying

on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

– from Soul Food

When you see a bright spot, I urge you to share it, especially with someone who is even more exhausted, afraid, and sad than you are.