How can both overhead lights in my kitchen burn out at the same time? Las Vegas odds, and yet this morning, my workspace (the place where I wrap and box up my John Lennon Series books for mailing) was completely dark.
At first, I was aggravated. And yeah, a little depressed.
You see, I have SAD syndrome (Sensory Affective Disorder) and so the first thing I do each morning is turn on every single light in the rooms where I’m gonna be hanging out. It’s so illuminated around here that my sister once acridly observed, “Oh I get it. You want your house to look just like the lobby of Homewood Suites.”
Yep, that’s about right.
But this morning, as I stood in the dim haze of my inconveniently dull workspace, it hit me. I was being given a gift…my blog theme for The Fest for Beatles Fans! I stood there quietly, and I mulled.
This is what I heard:
December is all about The Light. Hanukkah is The Miracle of the Lights…the inexplicable phenomenon of light continuing to pierce the darkness when every scientific fact dictated that the darkness should’ve prevailed. Hanukkah is the triumph of the Unknown over Known. Hanukkah is the victory of Light over darkness.
And Christmas is the birth of that Light. As the writer John phrased it so long ago: “That Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Another writer named John – a handsome, young man from Liverpool, England – wrote about the Light as well. He said, “Whatever gets you to the Light, is all right, all right!” And hey guys…he wasn’t talking about G. E. replacement bulbs, and we all know it.
He was addressing the miracle of that which pushes away the murky existence that lingers where all hope is lost.
December houses the shortest day of the year – the 21st of December – the day of least light shed on humans in all 365. At this time of year, many, many people struggle with depression as they try to ward off the scientific effects of a shadowy world.
But John Lennon, cavortin’ on stage with Elton John (another John!) in a concert that ultimately changed his fate forever, shouted in his rocker’s voice for us to seek the light, to “make it through the night,” to keep looking for ways to overcome the darkness.
Any other pursuit, he told us, was a waste of time. (“Don’t need a watch to waste your time,” he belted out, tongue in cheek. And John Lennon meant it. He knew about limited mortality (see his song, “Borrowed Time”). He knew about years well spent. John urged us to spend each day wisely.
Look…you can attach many meanings to this month…you can make it all about baking or shopping or creating décor or partying or traveling or inviting friends into your home. You can make it about clothes or trees or garlands or Frosty the Snowman. But the essence of the holidays is The Light.
The Maccabees on that gloomy hilltop knew it. John, that long-ago writer of the Book of John, knew it. And John the latter – our very own John Lennon – knew it. His final days were spent purchasing scores of books about spirituality, seeking out sages and religious leaders to ask questions, and spending hours of serious contemplation about life’s meaning.
He was seeking the Light. And it was, in fact, “all right, all right.”
With that in mind, I’m off to find replacement bulbs. All other tasks this morning can wait. “Bet my money and my life”…I can do this. December, the Maccabees, and John have set me on a mission. I’m off to seek the Light.
Click here to listen to John’s song…
Jude Southerland Kessler is the Author of The John Lennon Series
http://www.johnlennonseries.com
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