I was sharing some Christmas cheer last week with a friend of mine prior to the holiday weekend. At this time of year, he is cleaning out old folders and files, including email folders. He got to his Covid-19 folder and read some of his correspondence from early in the pandemic. It was really disturbing to him, and he commented what a dark time that was. It really was. I commented that it feels like it has remained some degree of dark since then, kind of like a tinted window or transition lenses in glasses. Not quite back to clear. I feel that.
Then I saw the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, on the Today Show. He was interviewed about hope and light in the Christmas season. His message was clear and resolute for anyone needing to hear it. Evil is the absence of goodness. Darkness is the absence of light. There is light and we are better when we focus on it. I know it and I need to focus on the light and not the dark. I needed to hear that this season.
Looking forward to the new year, I will shed the tint on my glasses and focus on the full bright light of gratitude, goodness, love, and opportunity around me. I can’t wait.
Mike Espeset
President