Today I started with a morning grill — I fired up the Weber first thing to shine my light. Usually I grill in the afternoon before the evening meal. But lately these C-19 days have turned life upside down until we aren’t always sure what hour, or even what day it is.
But I wake up here and must get to the business of my day with some level of purpose and with any luck, some reassurance. I need to shine my light: I am a writer. I am a cook. In the absence of my now grown children, I am a wife and the mother of two dogs. I am a master gardener. I have a house to run, a burgeoning spring garden to tend to, and a blog to update.
And there are signs of reassurance around me: bright sides to the story of C-19 like the new food, victory gardening and homesteading groups that have popped up on Facebook. People are learning to build chicken coops, raise hens from chicks, and to produce their own eggs. They are learning to be more self sufficient, and are taking better care of themselves and their families. There is a lot of sharing and caring. Good vibes abound. But not for everyone.
Dark and Wide, Not Everyone Feels They Can Shine Their Light
Not everyone feels they are able to shine their light right now. If you stray on social media too long, you have noticed along with the good vibes, there is a large helping of negativity. Fear, stories of death, anger at the incompetence of leadership, uncertainty, thoughtlessness and frustration abound around us.
The idea of the wide darkness in the world and how to shine your light, that is, to use your talents, was beautifully explored 300 years ago by the blind poet John Milton (1608-1674). In his Sonnet 19, about his recent blindness he is feeling useless, unable to use his talents, his light, which was writing poetry. “To prevent that murmur” of questioning God, he calls on his own patience to continue to serve God in faith by bearing his own, mild yoke, with the heavier burden placed on God’s shoulders. He prays. It is good to remember that Milton created his most important work, Paradise Lost, after he became blind, after his light had supposedly left him. But he did not lose faith. Below is Sonnet 19.
They Also Serve Who Sit and Wait
Why is Milton’s Sonnet 19 important?
In these times of fear and separateness, we must consider how the lights of others might feel like they are spent: Some of us are blind. Some of us are sick and quarantined. Others are not competent to act on behalf of ourselves, much less others. Some are wrapped in depression and fear and are isolated. How can we lift ourselves up? What is our value proposition, our light in this world? We must reflect for answers. We have other talents, Other lights to share.
Many are working from home while home schooling the kids, trying to stay sane, worrying about when childcare options will open up to allow us out of the house to work. We wonder whether our business can stay afloat. We wonder how we will pay for it all.
Milton says, “they also serve who sit and wait.” Patience, faith in God, and forgiveness for weakness and mistakes by ourselves and others are needed now. With patience and prayerful reflection, we can find our light. And shine it.
Shine Your Light
There are simple ways we have to shine our light: calling a friend or relative who is shut-in. Someone who wasn’t expecting to hear from us. Others provide care: they donate to food banks, provide soup for local, shut-in seniors or create food for their families and roommates that’s healthy and tastes good. They build. They create. They support. They use their powers for good. Food is a power for good.
So this morning, to get a better handle on it, I turned the day on its head with a morning grill — to shine my light. I grilled chicken kebabs, shrimp with tandoori seasoning, the garden asparagus that keeps on coming up, the mushrooms that were threatening to go bad. And I grilled a damaged pineapple that is now palatable and sustaining. Enough for many meals ahead that fuel our light here, and our path forward.
And today I hope that, by reading and reflecting on the provocative and reassuring thoughts of Milton, you have what you need: Peace. Patience. Faith. Forgiveness. Love. And a path forward to rediscover and shine your light.
Thank you for your light this morning. I didn’t know I needed it. These are very scary times.
We are here, still waiting in Winter Park to go see Christine in California before heading to New Jersey. I feel completely stuck. One would say, wow, no better place to be stuck. But I struggle everyday with “I can’t go West, I shouldn’t go East, and most of all can’t see my grandbabies.” So I try to fill my heart with creating masks to donate. But I must admit my light feels so dim.
Thanks for reading the post and for your thoughtful comments, Camille. These are hard times, when even having the sniffles seems scary!
Don’t be too hard on yourself, you are creating a lot of feelings of safety for all those people across the country who you make masks for without charge. This is your light for now but you have so many talents! We look forward to using all our light as the days pass!